Misfit
by Estrella Nuvola
Summary: The sequel to A Place for Raven. Jayden is a natural born fighter, and healer. She is always defending her brother and getting in trouble. She wants something for her life, but isn't sure what. Will a forbidden friendship help or destroy her?
1. Part One: Chapter 1

**Part One**

**Chapter One**

Standing in the midst of the large, nearly silent crowd I almost laughed. School fights were hardly ever like the movies where they have a perfect circle around the two that were going to attempt to beat each other into a bloody pulp. No one cheered or offered encouragement, they mostly whispered to each other and backed off a bit, waiting for one of the combatants to do something. I would know. I'm always getting in fights. Mostly because the ass-holes of my school won't leave my brother alone. You'd think it would be opposite, with Loz defending me. Nope. Somewhere in life God decided to switch a part of us and give me a bad temper and the muscles to back it up. My darling brother got the slight figure of our father and the passive nature of heaven knows who. So there I was, watching my opponent almost bored as he spit insults my way. I'd blocked him out a long time ago because I didn't give a damn what he had to say about me, or my mother or anyone else. I just wanted him to take a swing at me so I could kick his ass, as usual. When would they learn that fighting me is a mistake?

"Come on, ho." Jeffrey hissed at me, "You know you want me." That earned an eyebrow raise from me. Jeffrey is five-four, five inches shorter than me, about two-hundred fifty pounds, and looks like a pigs behind. I'm serious. His cheeks squish together forming a weird line down his face and his curly blond hair is shaved on the sides but long on the top, hanging down into his beady dark-brown eyes. See, pig ass. I smiled at him.

"You're right Jeffrey." He blinked stupidly at me. "I want you to grow a pair and show these good people how big of a 'man' you are. Fight me." I crossed my arms over my stomach and smirked at him. He stared at me as his chubby cheeks began to turn a ruddy color. Now the people that had backed up off to the side grew silent. I studied Jeffrey as he shifted and apparently tried to think of something to say or do. I saw him tense up and smiled triumphantly, not moving from my relaxed position. Seconds later Mr. Piggy barreled towards me like a crazed rhinoceros, giving me plenty of time to spin to my left and drop to the floor. As he ran past and tried to stop, I swept my left foot out and behind him, knocking his stumpy feet right out from under him. As he fell back I brought the heel of my right hand up under the corner of his jawbone, right beneath his ear. He grunted unpleasantly and collapsed into a heap on the floor.

I stood above him, my hands on my hips, grinning, "Jeffrey, Jeffrey, Jeffrey. When will you learn that I am superior to you? Remember this next time you decide to bad-mouth my brother." I winked at him as he groaned and walked out of the gym. I knew some loser had gone and squealed, so I marched down the different hallways to my destination: the office. When I walked in I saw the principle bent over the receptionist's desk, probably discussing something important. She looked up when I walked in, her dark hair already spilling out of her loose ponytail to frame her delicate, yet aging face. Her hazel eyes studied me curiously as I entered.

"Mrs. Strife." I called with a grin, "So good to see you again." She stood up straight and put a hand on her hip with a frown,

"Jayden, I'm guessing you'll need to see me in my office?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yup." I leaned against the counter, "I love our little meetings."

"I don't." she said dryly while rolling her eyes and beckoned for me to follow her.

Less than a minute later Mrs. Strife gestured to one of the soft leather chairs across her desk. I sat and crossed my legs, smoothing down my black pants as I settled into the comfortable chair. She sat down and watched me silently for a moment. She was only about 42 years old, but working in the school with rowdy kids had begun to weather her. Faint lines showed at the corners of her eyes and lips and a weariness showed deep in her golden-brown eyes.

"You need a vacation, Aunt Tifa." I pointed out. I only called her that when we weren't around others. She wasn't really my aunt, not by blood, but she was my mother's best friend. So Loz and I had always called her 'Aunt Tifa' and her husband 'Uncle Cloud'. With a sigh, Tifa closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"With you at my school, definitely." She opened her eyes but kept her fingers on her head, "You got in another fight, didn't you." I didn't like the way she made it a statement.

"Well…yeah." I ducked my head, "But he rushed me, I swear. You can ask everyone in the gym." Thankfully nobody but members of the local gang liked Jeffrey. I knew the witnesses would back me up.

"Jayden." Tifa groaned, "What am I going to do with you?"

"He was bad-mouthing and threatening Loz." I said sternly and looked back up, shaking my long light-purple hair out of my face. Whenever someone threatened my brother in anyway, I wouldn't stand for it. I'm very protective of him.

"Regardless, you need to stop getting in fights." She gazed at me with tired eyes, "Who was it?"

"Jeffrey Inger." I said with a sigh, "You may want to send a nurse or the physical therapist down there. I may have given him a concussion."

"Jayden Shinobu!" Tifa exclaimed.

"What?!" I cried, getting frustrated.

"This is the _third_ fight you've gotten into with mister Inger." She growled. And glared at me. I glared back, not willing to back down

"And all three times have been in self-defense. It's not my fault that he hasn't learned who's the better fighter." I sat back and crossed my arms over my stomach. I feel a pout coming on!

Tifa gave me a level look. Uh-oh. She snatched a green sticky note out of the little device on her desk and began to scribble something down, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to have a conference with your parents." I blinked at her. Conference? No way, nuh-uh. I'd never had a principle-parent conference and was not about to start that tradition.

"I'll pass." I said with blank stare. She actually laughed at me.

"Jayden, it's not up to you. It's up to me. Besides, I'm tired of having these discussions with your mother over the phone." She rubbed her hands over her face before picking up the desk phone and punching in some numbers. I gaped at her as she drummed her fingers on the desk.

"Ms. Hinata. Please send the nurse down to the gym. Mister Inger has apparently been injured in _another_ fight." Tifa shot me a nasty look when she said 'another'. I shrugged. If they expected me to feel guilty about getting in fights, they were going to have to wait a good while for that. I am Jayden Emi Shinobu, a natural born fighter. The fact that I am a girl doesn't deter me a bit. My motto; I am woman, hear me roar.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_A/N: Alrighty, what do you think? R&R please! And I know this is a bit short, I just wanted to get it posted. :P_

**-DISCLAIMER-: I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS. ALSO, I DO NOT OWN TEEN TITANS OR IT'S CHARACTER RAVEN. **That is all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I shoved my hands into the pockets of my sleeveless trench coat as I walked to the parking garage beside the high school. I was anxious to get home. Maybe my parents wouldn't get mad at me. Doubt it, though. I glanced up as I entered the garage and saw Loz leaning against his bike, next to mine.

My brother and I look almost identical, just with a few differences. He's six two with silver hair that has natural purple highlights and falls just below his ears in shaggy locks. He's very thin and almost dainty. His pale skin has yet to see the likes of a pimple. Intelligent purple eyes watch me as I approach. The only differences between us is our physical stature, him being really tall and thin while I'm tall for a girl but pretty muscular, just not grossly muscular. Also, my hair is light purple with silver highlights and eyes the color of jade. Other than that our facial structure is identical and we look alike. Full lips, straight noses, thin eyebrows and delicate chins. It's obvious we're twins.

"What did Aunt Tifa say?" he asked in his velvety soft voice when I stepped up next to him between our black motorcycles. I glanced around, glad that almost everyone had left already. A few students trickled in, hurrying to their cars. We were the only students with bikes. It made Uncle Kadaj proud.

"She's calling Mom and Dad in for a conference." I said, still watching the few remaining students hurry to their cars and peel out.

"Are you serious?" he gasped. I glanced over at him and nodded. He looked a little freaked and scared, I guess for my benefit. For some reason I didn't care. So what if she talked to Mom and Dad? I won't get in trouble. Hopefully.

"Jayden!" someone called from behind me. I turned to see a group of freshmen that were unfamiliar to me. How does everyone know my name? "Yeah?" I called back.

"That was great! You totally put Jeffrey in his place!" that was from one of the guys. A short mousey boy that had yet to hit his growth spurt, "Thanks cause, uh, he was really picking on my friends and me."

I studied their young faces and for some reason felt so much older than them. "It's no problem. It hardly took any effort." I said with a shrug.

A tall, skinny girl with long brown hair stepped forward, "Yeah, but…he's a senior. And you're a sophomore." She tapped her fingers together nervously. It was pretty sad how obviously abused she was. I smiled encouragingly.

"Age means little, it's talent that matters." I nodded to them and then turned to my bike, slapping Loz lightly on the back to let him know it was time to go. We swung on our bikes and started them. I tied my hair back with a piece of ribbon and slipped on riding goggles before slowly backing out, making sure not to hit the freshmen as they toddled out of the way. Loz saluted them, causing me to hide a laugh. He could be such a dork sometimes. And with that we left in a roar of the engines.

-x-x-x-x-

We sped through the streets of Edge, easily maneuvering around the people and cars milling about the city. Despite our young age, Loz and I could rival the best of the motorcyclist. Our family had always been good at riding. My mom, dad and Uncle Kadaj first taught us how to ride, and then Uncle Cloud really showed us how to ride. I love it so much. The wind, the freedom…the danger. We slowed as the road split off on two sides of a strip of buildings, one leading deeper into town, the other leading out. I glanced over to Loz and raised a hand, blowing him a kiss. He snatched the 'kiss' out of the air and pantomimed putting it in his pocket, for later. I smiled and veered off to the left and he to the right. And so was our daily ritual. At least for every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. I went to work and he went home. Lucky bastard.

A few minutes later The Angel's Wings came into view and I turned down the alley that led to the employee parking lot behind the restaurant. I pulled into a space and turned off the bike, sitting there for a bit as I thought, the tick-tick-tick of the cooling engine nothing but white noise. Would I really get busted for once? What then? Loz once said I kept doing this, the fighting and how I dress, because I feel like an outcast. An outcast, who me? No way. Well…maybe. I've never really fit in. Not even at home. I'm most comfortable with my brother…but. I still feel a bit trapped, like I can't be myself around any of them, at least not a hundred percent.

"HEY!" a voice yelled from the distance. I blinked and snapped back to reality. Now what? I looked around and found the source. At the opposite end of the lot from me was the local gang leader. Sweet. Maybe I could get in another fight. I was being sarcastic, by the way. I sighed and dismounted easily, retrieving a small pack from a hidden compartment on the side of my bike. Hopefully if I ignored him he would go away. I straightened and turned to enter the back door to the restaurant, key at the ready. But I just had to look.

With a quick glance over my shoulder I saw him approaching me. Crap. I reached into my bag and gripped my gun. Who says I can't be too cautious? As I turned to face him I dropped my bag, slipping the gun out as it fell, and then knelt as if I had dropped it accidentally. He was getting closer, but I had to move carefully so he wouldn't see what I was doing. I slipped the gun into one of the large pockets on the left side of my black trench coat and threw the pack over my right shoulder, standing and turning to face mister Gang-Leader.

I had never seen him up close and actually froze for a second, stunned. He was pretty attractive. At about six even, dark, auburn hair fell past his shoulders, half pulled back so it didn't fall into his golden eyes that framed a strong nose. Full lips frowned at me as he came to a stop, putting his fists on his hips. He was wearing a black wife-beater and dark green cargo pants with black work boots. I blinked at him and tried to look innocent. Key word 'tried'.

"You rang?" I smiled mockingly at him. Eh…sometimes I just can't stop myself.

"Stop beating up my men." He hissed in a gravely voice. I put my right fist on my hips and casually slipped left hand into the pocket that held the gun.

"Well, if you want to call them men, then at least teach them how to fight." I retorted, sparing a thought to wonder how the heck he'd heard about the fight so quickly. What I said had not affected him positively. Anger flashed in his gold eyes, his glare burning into my own jade ones. I stared back, doing my best to ignore the daggers his eyes were shooting at me.

"Well, maybe you should stop acting like a man and more like the girl you are. Plus, it's nothing big if you're beating up my weakest men." He growled at me and leaned forward till our noses were inches apart. I still hadn't blinked. Yay. "Regardless, you're making me look bad."

For a few seconds I fought to keep my mouth closed. But, as usual, my body lost, "You don't need me to do that."

He growled and lunged at me, but I was ready. I threw myself back and drew the gun at the same time. I saw a flash of silver and knew he had a knife. Stepping down hard with my right foot, I pushed, leaping towards him, which threw him off. He was even more surprised when I shoved the barrel of my gun into his ribs. I felt the tip of the blade bite into the skin just below my right breast. We both froze, holding our breaths.

"Back up, Jack." I said slowly through clenched teeth and shoved the gun between his ribs harder. A tiny noise of discomfort rose from deep in his throat, which made me smile.

"My name's…not Jack…" he hissed in my ear, because we were so close our bodies were pressed together. He shifted ever so slightly, betraying his discomfort. I, on the other hand, wasn't nervous at all. If he tried to cut or stab me, I would shoot him. Yeah, I may get hurt, but I had several layers on and it wouldn't be a killing blow. For a second I was bothered by the fact that I was going to shoot him. Then I shook my head, realizing that any hesitation could cost me dearly. I opened my mouth to say something but stopped when the lock on the door clunked and rattled. We both jerked our heads back and stared at each other, willing the other to back up first. I sure as heck wasn't going to. I'm stubborn as a mule.

Just as the door opened I felt him flip his blade away and instead wrap his arms around me in a hug. I was so shocked I couldn't move. When he drew back he kissed my cheek and winked at me. "See you later, Jayden." And then he turned and sprinted back the way he came. I stared after him, forgetting that somebody was in the doorway behind me.

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend." A soft voice said behind me. Crap. Just the person I wanted to avoid; my mother. I dropped my hand, leaving the gun against my leg, and turned to her. My mom had grown her hair out again, keeping it at mid-back length. Her violet eyes matched her hair and stood out against her fair, almost white, skin. She was shorter than me but I knew not to mess with her. She wiped her hands on the apron around her waist and raised an eyebrow at me.

"He's not my boyfriend." I said calmly and slowly began to slip the gun back into my pocked. I didn't want her to see it. "I don't even know his name."

"Well that could be a problem." She smiled at me, then narrowed her eyes, "Why did you have your gun out though?" I closed my eyes in frustration.

"Long story, Mom." I sighed. Why was I so tired all of a sudden? When I opened my eyes she was still watching me carefully. I stared back blankly before brushing past her into the small restaurant.

The hallway was dark to deter customers from coming back here. Doors that lined the walls led to closets and dry storage. I came out in a corner of the restaurant and edged along the wall till I got to the kitchen door, where I slipped through and hurried back to the bathroom to change. I locked the door and set my bag on the small counter. With a sigh, I dug through the bag for my work clothes; fairly tight black pants, a long-sleeved black dress shirt with a pair of silver angel wings over the left breast pocket. Black no-slip shoes and a short black apron completed the ensemble. I tucked the gun into a secret pocket of the bag while I kicked off my black combat boots. Unbuttoning the long black, sleeve-less trench coat took a while, but after that it was easy to strip off the black turtle-neck and pants, leaving me in a black bra, undies and socks. Do you see a pattern forming? Black is my favorite color, and I dress a little…gothic. Okay a lot goth. I like it, so sue me.

I quickly dressed in work attire and fixed my make-up; touch up the black eyeliner and mascara. That's the only make-up I wear, unless I go somewhere fancy. Then I add eye shadow. Watch out, I go crazy. I took the ribbon from my hair then snagged a brush from the bag and ran it through my tousled locks before pulling it back again. Mustn't get hair in the good people's food.

I crammed my school clothes, the boots, hairbrush and make-up back into the bag and threw it over my shoulder again after retrieving several pens, which I shoved into a little pocket on the side of my apron. After taking a deep breath, I left the bathroom and turned down the small hallway, only stopping at a set of lockers in the wall to secure my possessions. I exited the bustling kitchen and stepped behind the bar to the little touch-screen computer, where I clocked in at 3:47. I love it when I'm early.

A man with short, messy brown hair walked up to me with a grin. He had olive eyes and fair skin. A thin body frame made him look even taller, though he was only six feet. He put an arm around my shoulders and leaned into me, "I'm glad you're here, Jaydy-wadey. I'm ready to go home."

I made a face at him, "Good. You're a terrible server." I twisted in his hold and punched his stomach playfully, "And stop calling me that! Family is supposed to be nice to each other!" He laughed at that and actually had the gall to tickle my side. When people do that it REALLY gets on my nerves. I growled and punched him harder, which had little affect on him since he laughed after regaining his breath.

"Haru!" I hissed in frustration, "I am SO going to get you fired!"

"Liar!" he teased, "You love me too much!"

"Just hurry up and get rid of your tables so you can leave." I pouted and watched as the hostess sat a couple in the section Haru had. I raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded. I found my book, the money I got for change, and dumped it into my apron and grabbed a little notepad and waited for them to settle down and look over the menus. Haru patted my shoulder and went back into the kitchen. He's my only cousin. I don't know why Aunt Aelita and Uncle Kadaj didn't have more children, probably because Uncle Kadaj could be such a jack-ass, but that's not my business. Haruto Shinobu is about three and a half years older than me and Loz. His twentieth birthday is coming up in about a month, hurrah. Uncle Kadaj keeps saying he can't wait for 'that guy' to move out, though I think it's just a farce. He really loves his son. Hell, everyone loves Haru; he's the perfect man, so says the world. Kind, funny, strong, mysterious, blah blah blah. I love him, too, but sometimes all the attention he gets is unnerving.

I pushed away my thoughts and walked towards the young couple, plastering a 'HEY GUYS! I'M HAPPY TO SEE YOU!' smile on my face. Ah, the life of a server. Only six hours and ten minutes left of the lies.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

At twenty after eleven I was back in the kitchen sweeping up the last of the debris. Mom had left about two hours ago, pleading a head cold or something like that. She'd asked me to close up shop. So here I was, cleaning up the entire restaurant. Well, Serra, a chef, had stayed to help me out. She was taking the trash out and had been gone for a while. Probably smoking. I'll miss her when she's dead. I was trying to get junk out of a particular difficult spot, underneath a metal counter, when I heard the light jingle that told me someone had entered the restaurant. Damn. I thought I told Serra to lock the door when the last customer left about an hour ago. I practically threw the broom down and walked towards the kitchen door, noticing with pride my handiwork on the now shiny stainless steel surfaces throughout the kitchen.

I grabbed a rag off a counter by the door and began to wipe my hands as I left the kitchen, glancing behind the bar to make sure a gun was still there before looking up to the crazed lunatic that thought we were still open, "I'm sorry, we're clo…" I trailed off and froze when I saw who was standing by the door, watching me.

He was tall, about six-three, with broad shoulders. His black, almost messy hair fell past those muscular shoulders and was held partially back by a red headband. Dark, crimson eyes studied and a smile played across his soft lips. His skin was pale, where I could see it, which was just his face. Leather covered his body, except for the gold metal of feet and left hand. A tattered cloak hung around him and draped across his chest.

I kept staring because I couldn't believe he was here. With a frown, I stalked over to him and looked up into his red eyes, which seemed more brown now than I remembered. Sort of like dried blood. I studied his handsome and then hit him in the face. Not a slap, but a closed-fisted punch. I slugged him right in the jaw, visualizing my fist going through his face. He jerked his head with the hit and stayed like that, turned to the right and for a few seconds neither of us moved and hardly breathed.

When I couldn't stand it anymore, I shattered the silence, "Where the hell have you been, ass-hole?" I glared up at him as he slowly turned his head back and looked down at me.

"I'm sorry I didn't call, Jayd." He said softly and smiled. And that was enough for me. I grinned and hugged him, he hugged me back. Vincent is a fairly good friend of mine, but he disappears too much. This was the first time I'd seen him in over two years. I met him when I was twelve, and he was twenty-six. He's like a big brother to me and the only one who called me Jayd. He said it was his special nickname for me.

I pulled back and walked to the bar, motioning for him to take a seat. He did and I hopped up next to him, "It's fine, I guess. Just don't let it happen again." I grinned once more, which he returned.

"Yes ma'am."

"Where'd you go?" I asked and propped an elbow on the bar and sat sideways to watch him.

"I traveled out east of Edge and just kept going and going, trying to find something, anything interesting."

"Why?" I settled back and smiled, a plan forming in my head.

"I was bored, and needed something to do."

"Does Mom know you're back?"

"Yes, she was pleased to see me. Though her initial reaction was very similar to yours." He chuckled. I raised an eyebrow. "She backhanded me, yelled at me, and then hugged me."

I laughed at that. Everyone _did_ say I was like my mother. "Did she tell you I was here?"

"Yes."

"What did Dad think about you being back?" I twiddled my thumbs and waited.

"He still hates me." He sighed and rubbed his still human hand over his face.

"Why?" I held my breath, hoping against hope he would answer me. Vincent froze and slowly dropped his hand to give me a level look. Something drained out of his face and eyes, leaving his expression a bit blank. Crap.

"Now is not the time or place to tell you that, Jayd. How many times do I have to tell you that?" he gazed at me and looked tired. I studied his face in silence for a few minutes and for a moment or two, he actually let something leak away, allowing me to see into his soul almost. I had never seen him look so exhausted and so…old. Not really physically, but his eyes looked…aged, as if he had seen so much. I frowned when he blinked and closed himself off to me. Despite being my friend, I knew very little about Vincent. I looked at the soft skin around his eyes and mouth, and realized with a start that he hadn't aged a day since the last time I'd seen him, and he was thirty now. The only thing that changed was his eyes, which were darker than I thought they were.

"You're aging well." I stated, fighting off a frown of confusion.

He smiled at me, "You have no idea." That did cause me to frown. What did he mean by that? Oh well, I guess I'd have to find out later.

-x-x-x-x-

I gave Vincent a drink, on the house, and then quickly finished cleaning up the kitchen with the help of Serra, after I scolded her for staring at the mysterious man at the bar. She was twenty-seven and already making ga-ga eyes at him, though this was the first time she'd met him. Serra was about five-five, very petite, with strawberry blond hair cut short and spiky, though she was very girly off the clock. Sharp grey eyes kept flicking to the door and she grinned.

"PLEASE introduce me to him, Jayden!" she pleaded for the eighth time in about twenty minutes. If she kept it up I was going to get a migraine. I stalked back to one of the small closets near the bathroom and tossed the broom and dustpan inside, Serra following close behind me trying to win me over with puppy eyes and a quivering lip. I sighed and turned to her.

"FINE. Just don't act all mushy around him, you don't know him at all." I crossed my arms and frowned at her. She nodded eagerly and bowed to me, sweeping out her left arm, signaling for me to take the lead. I rolled my eyes at her and stalked to the front of the kitchen. I held one of the swinging doors open for her with a mocking smile. She made a face at me and stepped out, adding a bit of a sway to her walk. Good Lord…this woman is one of a kind. I followed her over to Vincent who was almost finished with his merlot. He was holding the glass up to one of the few lights still on in the restaurant by the stem and was spinning it back and forth with his thumb and middle finger. I cleared my throat, snapping him out of his apparent reverie.

"Vincent, this is Serra Gresdel, a chef here. Thanks to her, I get to leave before midnight. Serra, this is my good friend, Vincent Valentine." Though not by much, I wanted to add, but didn't. Serra giggled and blushed, holding out her hand to him. I fought to keep my eyes from going to the ceiling.

Vincent took her hand lightly in his. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Serra." He said, voice a little dry. Then he surprised both of us by lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing it. I thought Serra was going to faint.

"W-well then." She stammered and ran her fingers through her hair after he released her, "Chivalry is most certainly _not_ dead."

I'd had enough of this. I was tired. "Serra, take it out back or stay the night here, because I'm locking up so I can go home and go to bed; I'm exhausted." She blinked at me and nodded before turning back to Vincent.

"It was great meeting you, Mr. Valentine. I hope to see you again." Serra said a little breathlessly before nodding goodnight to me and scampering down the back hall. I shook my head and turned back to Vincent.

"How did you get here?" I asked as I turned off the remaining lights and plunged us into near darkness. I heard the leather of his outfit creak and a clink. I looked back and saw his figure leaning over the bar and setting it by the small sink. He straightened back up and got off his chair.

"I walked." I worked my way back over to him and peered in the darkness up into his face. It was too dark for me to determine whether or not there was humor in his expression.

"Are you kidding?" I asked.

"No." I heard the smile in his voice.

I shook my head. "You're crazy. Do you want a ride home with me?"

I heard him laugh. "That would be wonderful, but I doubt your father will want me there, let alone on a motorcycle with you." I rolled my eyes and grabbed his right arm with my left and began to lead him down the back hallway.

"Screw him. You're one of my Mom's closest friends and a good friend of mine. Dad can get over it." I paused at the lockers and cursed myself for turning off the lights. I fumbled with the lock and small ring of keys I kept in my apron until I got it open. Once I had retrieved my bag, I led him out the back and locked the door behind us. It was cold out, which I loved. The last few nights had been crazy, temperature wise. Some nights cold, others hot. That's just how it is during the transition between winter and spring. Vincent stretched beside me and seemed to glow with happiness. As long as I'd known him he'd loved the nighttime. I did too, so it didn't seem all that odd to me.

When we got to my bike I crammed the bag into the side compartment and tugged off my apron, shoving it in on top of the bag. I swung onto the bike and Vincent slipped on behind me. The bike was big and pretty much an exact replica of my fathers, only completely black, so we both fit comfortable on the leather seat. I tucked my ponytail into my shirt so it wouldn't slap his face in the wind and leaned forward, sticking the small key in the ignition.

He wrapped his arms around my waist as I started the engine, careful as always with his metal left arm. Mostly, when he rode with me he gripped my waist securely with his right arm and left his left loose at his side. This time Vincent wrapped his left arm around as well, wrapping the metal fingers around his right forearm. The new position pulled him down closer, so my back fit snugly against his chest. It was strangely comforting. I mentally shrugged off that thought as I backed out and his dark hair tickled my cheeks and neck. Then we sped off into the night, me being a little less reckless since I had another life on my hands. But only a little less.

-x-x-x-x-

Twenty minutes later I drove over the small bridge my father and his brothers had built long ago, connecting the 'mainland' to the little island in the center of the small lake. It led up behind the strange, shell-like structure that was our home. It was a very large building, with several rooms above ground and a series of tunnels below the earth. I parked next to Loz's bike and waited for Vincent to get off. When he did, a cold chill slithered down my spine from the lack of his body warmth. I slipped off and when I turned to him, he had wandered down to the edge of the water, his back to me. I walked down to him, tired and confused.

"You alright?" I asked, my voice a bit scratchy with that edge of fatigue you get when you've gone a bit too long without sleep.

"Just thinking." He sighed, smiling down at me. "Perhaps it wouldn't be so smart for me to walk in with you so late." I stared up at him.

"But then where will you go?" I asked in a small voice. He wrapped his right arm around me and gave me a quick hug.

"I'll figure it out."

I frowned and pondered the problem. I didn't want him to have to go out and stay somewhere else. He was my friend, so shouldn't I have the right to be hospitable and offer a place for him to stay? Damn right I should. I tugged his cloak to get his attention.

"You can stay with me." I decided with a smile. He frowned, obviously confused a bit. I gestured up at my home, to an area where there seemed to be a form of window or balcony. "My room is right there, and it's big. They won't know, and you won't have to go somewhere strange you don't want to."

After a few silent moments he smiled warmly, "Alright. I'll meet you up there in a minute or two." I blinked. How would he get up there? Well…it really didn't matter. Vincent was an odd and mysterious man, and he had his way of getting things done. So I just nodded before turning and walking around to the front of the building.

-x-x-x-x-

I turned down the hallway that led off to the left, trying not to wake anyone, when I heard a door close behind me. Crap. I turned and saw my father, Yazoo Shinobu, standing at the door that led to his and my mother's room in nothing but a pair of sweat pants. His long silver hair had somehow kept from getting mussed in bed. He walked towards me and I couldn't help but fidget a bit under his intense blue-green eyes.

"Jayden. It's good you got home safely." He said when he stopped about three feet from me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yup!" I said with a smile, "No problems at all with closing up and driving home." I turned to leave and he placed a hand on my shoulder. Uh-oh.

"Did Vincent Valentine stop by the restaurant?" I froze and thought of what to say. Well, the truth always works. I turned back and smiled a bit deviously.

"Yeah. I punched him in the face." My father looked shocked when I said that. Goody. I thought he'd like that.

"And why did you punch him?" he asked quietly.

"Because he's been an ass-hole these last couple years." I stared into his eyes comfortably because I wasn't lying.

Dad grinned and gave me quick hug. "That's my girl." He murmured into my hair before going back to his room. Shoo. That went well. I was glad I didn't have to lie. I try to not lie to my parents too much.

With a sigh I turned and continued down the white, almost glowing hall. Near the end, I opened a door and ascended a spiral staircase. It lead to another hall, at the end was my room and, supposedly, Vincent. This should be interesting.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

When I finally slipped into my room, I had to blink a few times while my eyes adjusted. The walls of my home were made of a strange, unnamed material that always gave off a soft glow. It had seriously gotten on my nerves, so when I got old enough to voice my own opinions I demanded a change. So my parents and Loz helped me paint the walks a red so dark it was almost black and install thick carpeting that was as black as black could get. After the change I found sleep a lot easier than before. Yippee.

Once I could see again, I glanced around my room. I spotted Vincent's still form next to the heavy curtains that sometimes covered the large opening leading to my balcony. He was gazing into the night sky and seemed not to have noticed me, though I was sure he had. I walked towards him, moving off a bee-line path to avoid the foot of my large, four-poster bed. When I came up beside him, I stopped and poked his side with my finger. He turned his head slowly to blink down at me. He seemed kind of…out of it.

"You alright?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. He blinked slowly at me and then nodded before glancing back outside. For some reason I didn't believe him, call it a hunch. But I didn't press him. Instead, I tugged on his cloak and pointed behind and to my left when he looked at me again. "You can sleep on the couch. I'll get you some blankets after I change." He nodded again. Hm. Odd.

I shrugged his odd behavior off and walked towards my bed, beside which was a large wardrobe. Yes, I have a wardrobe. I like weird stuff like that. I would love to have an old gothic mansion. I opened it up and snagged a black tank-top and shorts that matched. When I turned to walk to my bathroom, Vincent hadn't moved from where I'd left him. I frowned and shook my head before making my way to clean up.

Once in the bathroom, I closed and locked the door. I set my clothes on the closed lid of the, yes, black toilet beside the slim, modern black marble sink. I turned on the warm water and let it heat up while I rifled through the medicine cabinet that hangs above the sink. I grabbed the soap bar of facial wash I use every night. I set it on the little space next to the faucet and washed off my mascara, eyeliner, and grime from the day. After that I lathered up with the facial wash and covered my face, letting it sit for a while before thoroughly washing it off.

With a sigh, I put the bar back into the cabinet and snatched up my clothes. I sat down, facing the sink, on the thick edge of the black marble tub that's more like a miniature pool. Hurray for me. I kicked off my shoes and socks, pausing for a moment to wriggle my toes in the cool air. Then I tugged off my shirt and threw it to the ground, rolling my shoulders. I stared at the floor, getting distracted as usual. I shook my head after awhile slipped on the tank, leaving my bra on. I stood up and took off my pants and donned the shorts, frowning down at my pale legs. I feel so ugly sometimes. Oh well. I picked up my discarded clothes and turned off the light before going back into the bedroom.

I walked back towards my bed, wondering where Vincent had gone when I reached the end of the couch. I stopped and looked to my right. He was laid out on my couch on his back, right arm thrown over his arms and, to all appearances, fast asleep. I shook my head and walked past the front of the couch and around the chair catty-corner to it and went to a small door on the same wall as the door that led to the hallway. I dropped my clothes on the floor and opened the narrow door, revealing several shelves containing board games, towels, blankets, and a shelf all for electronics, mostly my lap top and cds. I grabbed a large down blanket and quietly shut the door, making my way back over to Vincent's still form. Gently, I placed the blanket on top of him and tucked it in a bit on his sides, feeling more like a mother than ever in my life. After that I retrieved my clothes and threw them into the laundry basket beside my wardrobe and climbed into bed, pulling the ties that held back the think, black drapes, plunging myself into complete and comforting darkness.

-x-x-x-x-

I was wrong. I did get in trouble, for the first time in pretty much forever. My parents came down the next afternoon, Friday, and they and Aunt Tifa decided for the next two school weeks I would have after-school detention for two hours. So much fun. Every day I got to clean up the school and, if I had time, the parking garage. It was a massive pain in the ass, but instead of deterring me from fighting in the future, it made me want to do it more, just to rub the fact that punishment didn't affect me in their faces. But for a week I was a good little girl.

It was the second Thursday after I was issued detention, the second to last day of hell, that everything went wrong. Up till then, life was pretty great, sans detention. I was getting good tips at work, nobody was threatening me, the loser gang leader hadn't bugged me, classes were easy, and Vincent and I had been bonding. I was the happiest I'd been in a long while. But then lunch rolled around on that fated day.

Loz and I were in the gym, sitting near the top, watching some guys attempt to play basketball. Jean, the closest thing I had to a best friend, sat with us, chatting away. I tuned her out when Youda, a particularly nasty member of the local gang, who was sitting several benches below us, began to talk loudly.

"I heard he was bisexual!" He told his companions and glanced up with us. Oh no he didn't. He smirked at me and continued to talk, never taking his eyes off my face, "I heard he's gay with men and fucks his sister." I stared at him blankly, willing him to come up here. I knew he was talking about Loz and me. For some reason we've been targets of rumors and humiliation at our school. I stood up and brushed off my heavy black skirt. I walked down the few steps between myself and Youda. When I reached him I just stared coldly at him. He was still taller than me, even though I was a step above him. Bleached blond hair stood up in spikes on his small head and surprisingly intelligent blue eyes glared at me.

"What'dya want?" He asked in his oh-so annoying voice. One of his teeth was gone.

"For you to shut up." I said quietly before punching him in the gut. When he doubled over I caught him in the jaw with a left upper-cut. Little did I know that doing that was just about the biggest mistake of my life. Youda fell backwards in almost a flip and began to tumble down the stairs. The worst part was how limp and Raggedy-Anne he looked as his body rolled down the long flight of concrete stairs. I heard gasps around me and I stared in horror as his body hit the gym floor with a sickening –thud-. For a few silent seconds nobody in the entire gym moved. And then suddenly I was moving without even realizing it. I sprinted down the stairs with solid determination, and it seemed that I broke the spell that held everyone, because seconds later bodies swarmed down the bleachers and stairs towards Youda's lifeless body.

By the time I reached the bottom a small crowd had formed around him, forcing me to shove my way through. Seconds later I broke through the center of the crowd to find Youda's girlfriend knelt beside him, sobbing and touching his cheek. His eyes fluttered, but didn't open. She turned to me in a flair of fake blond hair and dark brown eyes. She basically screeched at me, "You monster!"

I ignored her and walked over to kneel on his other side, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I couldn't believe I was about to do this. Tentatively, I reached out and placed my hand on his chest. I had…acquired some of my mother's powers when I was born. Not really her offensive or defensive power, but healing. I'm a terrific healer, though mother says I could be better if I practiced. I shook away my thoughts when blondie kept screeching at me and placed my hand on his chest. The girlfriend gripped my wrist and began to pull it away. My head was bowed a bit so I had to roll my eyes up slightly to look at her. Something in my eyes must have warned her because she immediately released me as if I burned her and scooted back. I closed my eyes again and let the warmth deep in my chest spread out and into Youda. It quickly spread through his body and my heart sank when I found the problem. I opened my eyes and gazed down on him. His eyes were open now and were filled with a mix of fear and wonder.

"Your neck is broken." I whispered. A small noise of distress escaped his throat and his eyes widened. He began to move his head back and forth while his breath came in and out faster and faster. I pressed harder on his chest and gave him a level look, "Stop it, or you're going to hyperventilate."

"But…" his voice came out high and frightened, "I can't move!" Everyone heard that. Gasps rang out all around me. Fantastic.

"I know." I said softly, "Now hold still so I can fix this." Confusion mixed with the panic in his eyes, but he stopped moving his head around. In the distant I could hear people talking and I felt someone grab my shoulder. People were really starting to piss me off. Then I heard Loz.

"Don't touch her. Everyone back up." His voice was soft and calm, and somehow he calmed the kids down. The hand on my shoulder vanished and a hush fell over the crowd. Thank you, brother. I said a silent prayer for help and guidance, and shifted a bit so I could place a hand on either side of Youda's neck. I closed my eyes and let out my breath, releasing more of my power as I did so.

It's difficult to explain how this works. The warmth of my power washed through his veins and over his bones before coming to a broiling rest at his neck. I could feel, sort of with my mind, the shattered bone of his spine and the torn nerves. The damage was bad, but I could manage. Using my power, I sort of visualized the bones, ligaments and nerves re-knitting themselves, and they did. I made sure it happened slowly and painlessly, and when I finished, I had no clue how much time had passed.

I sat back on my heels and let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. I opened my eyes and blinked into the suddenly harsh light. Everyone was staring at Youda who was slowly sitting up. His girlfriend rushed forward in a flurry of sobs and wrapped her arms around him. When she met my gaze I was thoroughly shocked; I had expected to see gratitude, not hatred and anger. I frowned as she dragged Youda off to the side. The crowd had backed up and all eyes were now on my, most filled with horror. I found Loz's eyes and he nodded in approval before stepping towards me with an extended hand. I reached up when he grew near so he could help me up, but just before he took my hand Jean stormed forward and grabbed his arm.

"Don't touch her!" she scolded and jerked him back to the edge of the crowd. I felt a tightness form in my throat, but I ignored it. I am not going to cry. No way. I closed my eyes and stood up, slowly. I heard footsteps quickly approaching us. Seconds later a hand grabbed my upper arm and jerked me away. I kept my eyes closed the entire time I was dragged, through the crowd I'm guessing, and out of the gym. Based on the sound of the high-heels, how she was walking and where we were headed, I figured it was Aunt Tifa and we were going to the office. Goody.

I opened my eyes just as we were going through the office doors and I was right. Aunt Tifa didn't look back at me the whole time we trudged down to her little office, and still didn't spare a glance my way until after she'd shoved me in the general direction of one of the chairs across from her desk. She sagged down in her leather chair and covered her face with her hand, shaking her head. I didn't say anything, I was too afraid I would start crying, so I just sat down and clasped my hands in my lap, waiting. Several silent minutes went by. It was unnerving.

"Say something." I whispered, still afraid the tears caught in my throat would push their way out.

"What do you want me to say, Jayden?" Aunt Tifa asked softly and dropped her hands. Her eyes were cold and shut off. Some how everyone in my family, blood relatives or not, could do that; shut off their emotions so there was no possible way for you to read them. I fought the urge to shift under that intense gaze.

"I don't know…anything." I sighed.

"Well, let's see." She said somewhat sarcastically, "I'm sitting in my office on the phone with your mother, telling her how greatly your behavior has improved in the past week when a freshman comes running in here, freaking out might I add, and sobbing that you had punched a student who then fell down the gym steps and BROKE HIS NECK." She glared at me and I could see the anger seeping into her eyes. This time I did shift a bit.

"It was a mistake." I blurted out, then quickly added, "Besides, I fixed him. Good as new." She watched me for a moment.

"I noticed he was up and moving, so I thought maybe the student had been mistaken. That's what I hoped, at least." She sighed and the anger began to leak out of her eyes, leaving her looking exhausted. "Jayden, don't you remember your mother saying not to use your powers?"

I rolled my eyes, "That's such a stupid rule! I can do so much good! Every day people are injured and I'm a great healer."

"Yes, I know." Aunt Tifa said kindly, "But people don't understand that. Normal people…well, they may be a bit bothered by it. They aren't used to young girls being able to touch someone and heal them with a few thoughts. I pray that your peers won't shun you for your little show in there."

My eyes grew wide and frightened as I realized that she could be right, but I quickly shook it away. I had friends. Like Jean, surely she wouldn't stop being my friend because I –helped- someone. But then I remembered the look on her face and the way she jerked Loz away from me. This was not good. I looked up at Aunt Tifa, my eyes brimming with tears, "Can I go home?"

"I…think that may be best, for now." She stood. "Stay here and call your mother or father. Let them know what happened and that I said it's alright for you to go home." And with that she left me in her office, staring at the empty chair. I'm in deep shit, I thought as I pulled out my cell phone and dialed The Angel's Wings number. After a few rings none other than Haru picked up.

"Hey Jaydy-Wady, what's up?" I could hear the grin in his voice. I didn't reprimand him for the nickname.

"I need to talk to Mom." I said softly.

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately, his tone changing from joking to concerned.

"Just give me Mom." I sighed. He complied and put me on hold. A few minutes later my Mom picked up the phone, sounding worried and asking what had happened. Way to go, Haru. I told her what happened and what Aunt Tifa said. Mom was silent for a long time.

"Mom?" I asked tentatively, wondering if the phone had disconnected.

"I'm here." She said softly. "Go home Jayden, and don't worry about coming to work tonight. I'm sure you will be tired and need to rest, as well as think about what you have done and what the consequences are and will be."

I nodded and said, "Okay. I love you."

She sighed, "I love you too, baby. Be safe driving home." And then she hung up. I shut my cell phone and cursed myself and temper, before getting up and leaving.

-x-x-x-x-

When I got home, nobody was there. I trudged up to my room and took a forty minute, hot shower, then changed into a black cotton halter top and matching pants. I shoved my school clothes in the laundry basket at the bottom of my closet. I looked around my room and felt lost. It was too early to go to bed; twenty to three, and I wasn't hungry. In fact, Mom was right. I was exhausted. I wasn't sure about a nap because I didn't want to be up and hyper all night, but after a while I said screw it and I crawled under my covers and closed my eyes. Surprisingly, I drifted off to a dreamless sleep almost right away.

-x-x-x-x-

I woke up to darkness and silence. I sat up in bed and blinked sleepily as I smoothed down my hair. On the little bed side table was a glass of water and a wrapped up sandwich. I picked it up and sniffed. Summer Sausage. My favorite. I set it down and looked around my dim room. Vincent was not in his usual spot on the couch. I frowned and looked around for my cell before remembering it was in the pocket of my black skirt, in the hamper. I sighed and stumbled out of bed to the closet. Thankfully the skirt was right on top of the pile, so I didn't have to dig for it. I opened my phone and squinted at the sudden bright light from the screen. Wow. 3:27. I slept over twelve hours and was still tired. Wonder why…I'd have to ask Mom if I saw her before going to school. School…ugh. Just the thought made me want to run screaming. I hated it on a regular basis, but now...I don't know. It might be worse.

I jerked my head up when I heard the bathroom door open and stood up. I couldn't see over the couch from my crouched position in front of the closet. Vincent stood in the bathroom doorway watching me. He was more undressed than I'd ever seen him. He had a tight, black long sleeved shirt on tucked into black pants. I couldn't tell from so far away, but I was willing to bet the cloth was soft and he wore it under all his leather. The headband he almost never took off was missing, leaving his shaggy hair hanging in his face. We stared at each other for a moment and for some reason the pain I had felt the day before at school came back. I didn't want the kids at school to hate me for what I'd done. I blinked away tears and lowered my eyes before turning to shut the closet door quietly. I flipped my phone closed and went to walk back to my bed. Movement in my peripheral caused me to spin around and I gasped a bit when I found myself staring at Vincent. I had no idea he could move so silently and quickly. One second he was by the bathroom and the next he was right beside me, looking at me with a blank face. Two could play that game. I automatically relaxed my face and closed it off.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly in his husky voice.

"Nothing." I replied calmly. The corners of his lips twitched, almost as if he was fighting off a smile.

"Don't lie to me, Jayd. Something happened today that has upset you." I blinked up at him. Surely I'm not that easy to read? I had my cold, blank face on. Even Loz had trouble telling my emotions and thoughts when I was like this, and we had the twin psychic thing going on. He frowned when I didn't say anything, "It may help to talk about it. Otherwise it will build up inside and hurt and hurt until it breaks loose and you either scream and take it out on someone, or have an emotional breakdown."

I sighed and knew he was right. Motioning him to follow, I went over to the couch and sat down. He placed himself carefully beside me, but not quite touching. He watched my face and waited patiently. I studied him for a while. One day I would have to ask him how and why he has metal feet and left forearm. I shook my head and looked up into his crimson eyes, which had changed. Again. When he had returned last week they had been muddy, almost brown. Now they were a deep red, almost the color of fresh blood. You'd think that would creep me out, but I liked his eyes. I realized with a start that I was stalling. Why didn't I want to talk about what happened? Oh well. I took a deep breath and told him what happened. He was silent for a long time after I was finished.

"And why does this bother you?" he asked after while.

"I dunno." I shrugged. "I guess because Aunt Tifa said something about how normal people are freaked out by the abnormal and they may shun me or something. I don't really believe that, but maybe it just buried itself in my mind and it won't leave me alone."

Something flitted across Vincent's lovely face. Fear, sadness, and then understanding. Odd. "She's right, though." He said softly and lowered his eyes, "People fear the unknown and misunderstood. If they don't know how it works or why, or if they can't do it, or have it, then they don't like it. Humans are very selfish and self-conscience creatures by nature."

I frowned, not sure why the way he phrased the last sentence bothered me. I mentally waved the feeling away and realized he had been right. I felt better now that I had talked about it with a friend, and I had a feeling he was mistaken about the last part. I smiled then, "Thanks for listening, Vincent. You're a great friend. It did help to get it off my chest, and I'm not going to worry about tomorrow. I have Loz and good friends. Nobody will treat me any different than they used to. Besides," I added with a grin, "They thought I was 'different' from the beginning."

He raised his eyes to meet mine and they looked sad, "I'm sure it will be an interesting day tomorrow. You'll be fine." I frowned, once again not liking his phrasing. Oh well, again. I squeezed his knee in appreciation and headed off to bed. As I crawled under the covers I saw him pull a blanket out from under the couch and curl up under it, his back to me. He was a strange man, but my friend none the less. I closed my eyes and felt a lot better. Tomorrow, school would be fine. Everything would be fine.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Everything was not fine the next day. When Loz and I walked in the school the hall fell silent and everybody stared at us. Well, me. Jean stepped forward with a blank face and I smiled at her pleasantly. Her eyes flicked to my face and then to Loz's. She continued forward and when she reached us, took Loz by the arm and whispered in his ear. I blinked up at my brother and he smiled down at me before giving me a one armed hug. "Jean needs my help on a project." He breathed in my ear, "I'll see you at lunch." And then he let Jean lead him away. She looked back over her shoulder at me and the phrase 'If looks could kill' came to mind. I frowned when she turned away and people slowly moved on and began to whisper. Shit.

First period, Pre-Calculus, was rough. The teacher was nice enough, but he wasn't his usual self. Normally, we'd joke around with each other and he'd call on me for answers. Math was my best subject. But today he treated me like a nobody. The rest of the students wouldn't look at me and when I asked Reltie, a friend of my who sits at the desk beside me, for a piece of paper, he completely ignored me.

The whole morning was like that, and by the time lunch time came round I was about an eight and a half on the pissed scale. I found Loz in the computer lab with Jean and sat down beside him. When he asked how my day was, as he did every lunch, I huffed, "Everyone is treating me like I have a disease. It's getting on my nerves." I crossed my arms under my chest and sulked in a blanket of anger. Loz frowned and Jean ignored me. Great, her too.

"That's odd. I wonder why they are doing that…" my twin pondered. Thankfully, we were the only three in there, besides the ancient teacher. I gritted my teeth and glared at Jean.

"Helloooo!" I said to her, "Jean, can you hear me?" Her eyes flickered to my face and they showed fear and anger. I blinked at her and my own rage faded, "Jean, what's wrong? Did I do something? Or did I forget to bring you something?" I was really confused.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning to look at me coldly, "Let me think. You broke a kid's neck yesterday and then HEALED him. That's pretty freaky. Hell, -you're- pretty freaky." I gaped at her, literally. Loz turned and frowned at her.

"That's not nice to say to your friend, Jean." He said softly and touched her hand. Her gaze turned to him and changed. She looked at him with care. I'd always figured Jean wanted to be 'more than friends' with Loz, but she'd never really confided in me. I knew he thought she was beautiful and kind and blah blah blah, but had something happened that I missed?

"She's not my friend." Jean said bluntly. I choked on my own saliva and she turned back to glare at me. I could see cold fear beneath the anger, "At least…not any more." And then she got up and left us. I stared at her empty seat and felt a torrent of emotions wash through my mind and heart. Jean. My best friend, besides my brother, was afraid of me.

-x-x-x-x-

I left school after third block. It was unbearable now that I understood. Everyone was hiding their fear of me under the anger. How could they be so…petty? I –healed- someone. Shouldn't they be thankful? Regardless, it was too much for me to handle. I was furious and depressed at the same time. So I left. I didn't sign out and knew I'd get grief for skipping but I didn't care. I slipped out of the school and left a note for Loz on his bike before starting my own up and tearing out of that God-forsaken place. I sped out of town, heading for the mysterious forest where my home was. As I drove through a narrow pass between two cliffs a tear slipped out and down my cheek. Dammit. I was not going to cry. I pushed my bike as fast as it would go and was home in less than twenty minutes, where it normally took an hour.

I stormed up the front steps and didn't even stop when my father called my name from behind me. I was beyond pissed now. I had chosen anger over grief and it was giving me a headache. I felt Dad grab my arm and whirled around on him.

"Why are you home?" he asked in his soft voice. God it was annoying. HE was annoying. Or maybe that was just my pissiness talking. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"I had a bad day at school. I don't feel well and I think I'm sick." It wasn't a lie, really. I truly did feel sick. My face felt like it was on fire and my head was killing me. I jumped when I felt my father's cold hand on my cheek.

"You're burning up." Way to state the obvious. I opened my eyes and glared up at him. He frowned and gave me a little push. "Go to bed and rest." I nodded. Sounds like a great idea.

I walked slowly up the stairs and then down the narrow hall, past my brothers room, to my door. My anger was fading very quickly and was being replaced by a bottomless pit of grief. I shut my door and leaned against it, closing my eyes with a deep sigh. After a few minutes I checked the time on my phone. 2:25. Damn. I went to my wardrobe and found a long black spaghetti strap dress I used for sleeping. I took it, and a change of panties, to the bathroom.

In the shower, amidst the heat and steam, I started to cry. I didn't want to. I tried not to. But I just did. It was as if my body could no longer hold them back, no matter how hard I tried. Eventually it got to the point where my throat burned. Then they leaked out, slowly at first, just a few, and then more until they streamed down my cheeks, mixing with the water.

It was 3:00 when I stood in the center of my room, squeaky clean and depressed. Loz would be home in about an hour and a half. With that knowledge, I went to the door and locked it. I knew when he got home he would come see what was wrong with me and if he could do anything to make it better, and that would only make things worse. Besides, I hate crying in front of people. It makes me feel weak. I'd much rather cry by myself than around others. I turned back to my room and looked around, feeling empty. I began to walk all the way around my room, starting by going to the left. I trailed my fingers over the cool wall, over the closet door, onto the adjoining wall and then over the bathroom door. Turning to the next wall I pressed my entire palm against the wall and walked more quickly until I reached the spot where the wall disappeared behind the curtains at the doorway to my hidden balcony I stepped out and hopped up onto the thick edge that served as a railing. I swung my legs over and looked out over the water and forest. I was still sitting there when almost three hours later, as it grew dark, Loz got home. I watched him pull in and park not too far below me. He didn't look up, just hurried around the front. Minutes later I heard him knocking at the door. I ignored him and it was almost ten minutes before he gave up.

I was still sitting there, thinking of nothing in particular, just trying not to think about my day, when it was so dark that the glowing trees looked like dozens of white bonfires and the stars shone down brightly. I had no clue what time it was; I'd left my phone on the bedside table. Not that I cared. I didn't care about anything at all, anymore. So I didn't know how late it was when Vincent emerged, silent as ever, from the woods and crossed the small bridge. He spotted me on the center of the bridge and sped up a bit. When he reached the base of the building, he climbed the side like it took no effort it all. He swung up over the ledge and landed easily beside me. I stared up at him, my eyes wide to fight off tears. He held out his right hand to me and I looked at it for a long while before taking it. I will admit I was a bit surprised when he pulled me off the edge of the railing. I thought I was going to tumble to the ground, but he caught me and carried me inside to sit down on the couch with me still in his lap. I stared up at him silently. I didn't trust myself with talking. His left arm held me around mid-back, his right draped over my waist. He lifted his human hand and trailed a leather-clad finger down my cheek. Dammit. He was going to make me cry again. I scowled up into his beautiful, sad face. Anger. Anger would keep me from crying again.

"Jayden…" he whispered. And that did it. I closed my eyes and I cried. Carefully, he pulled me closer and hugged me. I don't know if he knew what had happened at school, or if he just knew I was uber sad, but he comforted me. I don't know how long we sat there. It could have been hours, it could have been minutes, but he held me the entire time, waiting for me to cry myself dry. Which I did. Eventually no more tears came and I felt better. If empty was better. All the grief and sadness was gone, leaving emptiness and fatigue. I cuddled a bit closer to him and sighed. Still, Vincent said nothing. A few minutes later I pulled back and he let me. My cheeks were still wet, and he reached up to brush away the left-over tears. His hand was now bare, at some point during my crying he'd removed his glove, and the feel of his skin against my cheek was comforting. He seemed to sense that and laid his hand against the side of my face. I leaned against his large, strong hand and closed my eyes again.

"You were right." My voice sounded rough, and harsh, to me. Like I hadn't spoken in a long time. When he remained silent I cleared my throat and started again, "The kids at school…they are afraid of me. They ignore me and spit anger at me to cover up the fear. They seem to hate me." I opened my eyes then and looked up into his own crimson ones. I was surprised to see a deep understanding in his comforting and concerned gaze, and beneath that, a bit of confusion.

"They aren't worth your time, Jayden." He whispered. "People who think and feel things like that, aren't worth it. Let it go."

"Jean…she's terrified of me." I continued. "And hates me. How? I've been her friend for years. And she's trying to keep Loz away from me."

"She could never do that." Vincent reassured me, "Your brother will always be there for you and will always love you. Nobody could take him away from you." He dropped his hand slowly, trailing his fingers down my skin. It made me feel funny. I shifted a bit till I could comfortably lean my head against his shoulder.

"Good. I'm glad I have him, and you. You are such a great friend." I felt him stiffen suddenly. Uh-oh. I sat up and pushed away from him to stare into his eyes, "What? What's wrong?"

"I have to leave for a while." He said sadly. I crossed my arms over my stomach, feeling my anger return. Yay. He sighed, "I can't tell you why, really. Maybe later. If the circumstances are right. But I will call you, if you want."

"Yes. You had better. I'm not having a repeat of the past two and a half years." I gave him a level look. He smiled and nodded before carefully placing me on the couch. He stood up and went to my bedside table to get my phone. He messed with it for a bit before coming back to sit beside me. I yawned, "Program your number in?"

"Yes." He continued to watch me carefully. I blinked lazily. He smiled and quickly snatched me up into my arms. I squealed and then scowled at him. I do NOT squeal. He laughed at me and I returned it. He walked to the bed and pulled back the covers before setting me down.

"Thank you, DAD." I said mockingly as he pulled the covers up around me. In reality, I was shocked and impressed that he could carry me so easily. When he had been pulling back the covers it had been with his mechanical hand, so he'd only held me, a 16 year old girl that isn't so small, up with one arm. Bravo. He smiled down at me. I sighed, "When are you leaving?"

"A week." He looked serious. I nodded and reached for my phone as he sat down on the side of the bed. It was 12:34 am. Hoo-rah. I turned back and cuddled into my pillows. I was feeling much better, thanks to him. I looked up at him, but couldn't find it in me to return his smile. He was leaving in a week. That'd be like Loz randomly telling me he was leaving and didn't tell me where he was going. It hurt. Once again, Vincent read me like a book. He brushed my hair out of my face, "I won't be gone long."

"Promise?" I asked in a tired voice. He nodded and patted my head before going into the bathroom. I turned on my side and curled up into a small ball that resembled the fetal position. I was still awake when Vincent left the bathroom and lay down on the couch. Eventually, I fell in to a restless sleep plagued with nightmares. I woke up a couple times, but eventually the nightmares faded into blissful silence, and I slept well until morning.

-x-x-x-x-

The days were basically the same over the next week, except I stayed in school all day and ignored the people that ignored me. It worked. Jean and Loz were spending a lot of time together, but I didn't care. I dealt with school and work, and spent the remainder of the days with Vincent, when he wasn't out doing God knows what. Nights were still rough for me as I tossed and turned with bad dreams, though always they faded into nothing at some point in the night, I guess when I fell into a deeper sleep. One of the strangest parts of that week, however, was how well I was doing on class-work and homework. Apparently ignoring others had its ups. I was doing great in class, and my grades were better than ever.

It was Friday night when Vincent told me he was leaving in the morning. I pouted and huffed as we walked through the woods together, but I knew he would call me, which would be as good as if he was here. When we got back to my room we stayed up late talking, a habit we had acquired over the past week. Really, it was me doing most of the talking, since he seemed reluctant to share his past, but that was fine with me. I crawled into bed that night, however, feeling worse than usual. My new best friend was leaving in the morning and there was nothing I could do about it. I was having terrible nightmares and sleeping poorly when I woke up with tears drying on my cheeks.

At first I wasn't sure what had woken me up and then I heard it. Footsteps. Vincent's, I hoped, as he approached me. The bed shifted ever so slightly and a cool breeze fluttered over me, and then was gone. Then I felt him beside me. At first I was totally freaked out. What the hell was he doing? But then he put his right arm lightly over my waist and spooned his body against my back, and I felt completely at ease. It felt…right. I closed my eyes before he noticed that I was awake and evened my breathing. The bed shifted again and he kissed me on the cheek. Okay, I was definitely going to ask him about this in the morning.

-x-x-x-x-

I woke early and felt refreshed, as I did every morning for the past week, but Vincent wasn't beside me. I sat up and yawned as I scratched my head. Vincent was fully clothed and was folding up the blankets I had provided for him. He set them on the couch and placed the pillow I'd also given him on top. When he turned around he didn't look surprised to see me up. I patted the bed with my right hand and he came over to sit with me. I watched him very carefully. Here we go.

"How long have you been sleeping next to me?" I asked softly. I barely saw the slight stiffness that ran down his back. He looked down in his lap and then back up to me.

"Since last Friday night."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because." He sighed, "You were very upset after what happened. You were tossing in your sleep and crying out. I didn't know what to do. I had the idea to lay next to you and it worked. You calmed down and slept silently."

I continued to watch him and wondered if I should ask about the kiss. Better not. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. He sighed and stood. "I have to go."

"I know." I groaned and got out of bed to follow him to the balcony. He turned swiftly to me and pulled me into a tight hug, which I returned. I sighed against him, "Thank you, for comforting me."

He pulled back and stepped away, "Anytime, my friend." And then he turned and leapt over the side of the balcony. I went to the edge and watched him run into the forest. He was so graceful. It looked almost as if he was gliding. I shook my head. I'll never understand that man. I sighed and turned back to my room, preparing for a good long time of boredom and no fun.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

* * *

A/N: This is the end of Part One. R&R please!!! 


	6. Part Two: Chapter 6

**Part Two**

**Chapter Six**

The old, crumbling and mostly destroyed church loomed above me ominously. It was beautiful, near the center of Midgar, or what was left of the city at least, and had become my favorite hang out spot over the past few months. Days I didn't work I went to the church right after school and would stay for hours; reading, exploring, or just thinking. Sometimes, on sunny days, I would take the blanket from the compartment on my bike, lay it in the sun that filtered through the roof that was practically non-existent, and take a nap. I did the last activity so much now that it was summer vacation, that my family had commented on the fact that I was getting more tan. That bugged me a bit, because I like having fair skin, but oh well. The sun just feels so good sometimes.

Uncle Cloud had told me about the church last summer when we were talking about Midgar, and I immediately went to check it out. The huge front doors hung loosely so it was easy for me to ride in and park near the very front of the church where wildflowers grew. That Sunday, I'd decided to take another nap among the flowers. I removed my riding coat and draped it over the seat of the bike, leaving me in black shorts and tank-top. I kicked off my shoes and socks while digging through my side compartment, a talent I had only recently mastered. Out of the compartment came a thick, dark red blanket, a small pillow, and my gun with an extra clip. I never went anywhere without it these days. The local gang, led by Fraedell Gresh, had been pestering me for the past year, ever since my little scuffle with good ol' Fraed in the back of my mother's restaurant. So I started keeping a weapon, besides my body, with me at all times.

I shook the blanket out on the ground in the midst of the sweet smelling flowers. I threw the pillow down and flopped down on my back, tucking the gun and clip half beneath the blanket so it was hidden behind it and the flowers. I stretched with my arms above my head, arching my back and pointing my toes. It felt great. Settling back, I tucked my hands behind my head and closed my eyes, basking in the sun.

Twenty minutes later I heard a bike rumble up and stop outside the church. Great. I didn't think it would be Loz; he always called first because he knew I hated being disturbed and surprised. I waited and listened, hearing, not long after the new bike's engine was cut, the tell-tale sound of the front door creak and footsteps. I sat up casually, blinking slowly as if I was tired and rested my hands beside me, my left near the butt of my gun. I was genuinely surprised, and had to concentrate on keeping my face blank and innocent, as none other than Fraedell walked towards me, gazing around the church like a tourist.

"Mr. Gresh." I said in a business-like manner. I always greeted him like that; it seamed to annoy him. This time, however, he didn't seem annoyed; he stopped at the edge of the flower bed and actually smiled at me. Today he was wearing a white wife-beater, he seemed to favor those, khaki shorts, and, surprisingly, sandals. It took a skilled rider to drive a motorcycle in sandals. I frowned up into his lovely face and golden eyes.

"Miss Shinobu." He bowed to me. I had to smile at that. What's up with this guy? He straightened again and walked to my right side, sitting down carefully in the flowers. I sighed.

"What do you want, Fraedell?" I asked tiredly. I so didn't feel like dealing with him at that time.

"Nothing, really." He shrugged and glanced at me, "Just to talk." I frowned at that. He never wanted 'just to talk'. There was always something he wanted. I tried with bluntness.

"Liar." My hand automatically twitched closer to the gun. He turned and looked at me seriously.

"I'm not lying." He said, staring into my eye. It didn't seem like he was lying. But… He smiled again, "Really, I'm not. I've just been…fascinated with you for the past year."

"Oh." I said, letting some sarcasm leak into my voice, "So you sending your cronies after me with pipes, crowbars and fists was just a way of finding out 'who I am', eh?"

He looked a little embarrassed, "A bit. I didn't ever want them to hurt you."

"They didn't." I pointed out.

"I noticed." He smiled, "That's one of the things I like about you." Uh-oh. I'd rather have Fraedell hold a grudge against me than like me.

"Well…" I didn't know what to say, "So you really are here to…talk?"

He nodded, "And thank you for something you did a good while ago." I raised my eyebrows. He smiled, "Over a year ago you healed Youda after he broke his neck." I felt my cheeks flush. That incident was what had made my life hell for the past year and however many months.

"Yeah, well, and I was the one who broke his neck, in case you forgot." I stated bitterly. I really didn't want to think back on that day. He nodded.

"But still, you healed him…why?" I blinked at him. He sighed, "I just want to understand why, after what he said to you."

I didn't ask how he knew what darling Youda had said to me. "It was the right thing to do." He still looked confused. I sighed and shook my head, "I don't know how to explain it, Fraedell; I just had to do it."

He nodded and we sat in silence for a while. I glanced at him and frowned, trying to figure out what kind of relationship we had. I couldn't call him a friend, though I knew him well enough, more than I knew a lot of people. I also couldn't call him my enemy because, well, I just couldn't. It was certainly a strange relationship. I opened my mouth to talk but Fraedell beat me to it.

"I was wondering," he started, and suddenly seemed a little nervous, "if you'd like to go to dinner with me sometime."

I coughed and started choking. He patted my back until I could speak and breathe again. I managed to hiss at him, "What did you say? Are you asking me out?"

He blinked at me innocently, "Yes." I narrowed my eyes and studied him, trying to see if he was messing around with me. It didn't seem like it. I frowned and thought about it. Fraedell was extremely attractive, and we got along to an extent. If we stopped fighting and actually tried to get to know each other, could we really be friends and maybe more? It was worth a shot.

"Sure, why not?" I replied slowly, still watching his face and hoping he didn't start laughing. He didn't laugh, but he did grin.

"Great!" he laid back in the flowers with his hands behind his head and crossed his legs. "When shall this happen? Tonight?" I suddenly wasn't so sure about all this.

"Um…" just then my cell phone went off in my coat pocket on my bike. Saved by the bell. Fraedell jumped up and waved me to stay where I was. He ran to the bike and dug the phone out, bringing it back to me quickly. I fought back a frown and took it from him, glancing at the number when I flipped it open. It was Mom.

"Hey, what's up?" I greeted.

"I need a humongous favor." She started. Great. I was willing to bet ten bucks she wanted me to work.

"When do you need me in?" I asked dryly. She laughed nervously and Fraedell blinked at me questioningly. I ignored him.

"Three o'clock?" The pleading in her voice made me want to gag. "Haru can't come in tonight, so I was hoping you could work instead." I thought about it. Money was good.

"Sure. What time is it now?"

"One-thirty." She sounded relieved. I love making people happy.

"Alright, then. See you at three." I hung up before she could get all grateful and mushy. I groaned and laid back again. I didn't want to work, but I couldn't leave them short handed. Plus, I needed, and wanted, the money. Eh, oh well.

"You have to work?" he sounded disappointed. I nodded and stood up, gathering up my things. I didn't bother hiding the gun from him; he'd seen me carry it with me on more than one occasion. When he saw it he raised his eyebrows at me, "Were you going to shoot me?"

I gave him a very blank look. "If the situation called for it." He looked startled, I guess because he realized I wasn't lying. Better for him to learn now that I don't mess around than later. I crammed my stuff back into the hidden compartment on my bike and slipped into my black riding trench coat. I fastened the top few clips and swung on. He stood and looked as if he was trying to think of something to say. So I saluted him and started the engine with a roar. And without sparing him a second glance I sped out of the church and headed home.

-x-x-x-x-

I finally crawled into bed at ten minutes to midnight. It had been rough at work; strangely busy. Thankfully Mother hadn't left me to close up and we had all gotten out of there at a decent hour for such a busy night. I had just settled down and closed my eyes when my cell phone went off. I grumbled as I rolled over and fumbled around on the bedside table for it. After finding it, I squinted at the number and immediately stopped cursing whoever it was. I flipped it open and pushed the appropriate button.

"Hey, what's up?" I muttered groggily into the receiver and laid back.

"Nothing much." Vincent's husky voice relaxed me and put my mind at ease. I closed my eyes and listened, "Just checking up on you."

I smiled, "Aw, how sweet. How's 'business'?" He had told me the reason he left was to take care of some 'business'. There was a 'package', and item, that he had to find and maybe destroy. He said it was a danger to mankind and anyone who got their hands on it. Yippee.

"Not so great." He sighed. "Every time we get near it, something happens and we lose it." He always said 'we', and I didn't know who else was with him. It was frustrating.

"That sucks."

That earned a low chuckle, "You have such a way with words, Jayd."

"You're darn skippy." I laughed and then yawned, "You sound tired." I commented.

"So do you." Vincent countered.

"I had to work hard tonight. What's your excuse?" He was silent for a long time. What had I said? Maybe it was another of his secrets. Something he couldn't tell me. Yet.

"I've just not been sleeping well lately." Ah.

"Well then." I stifled another yawn, "You should sleep right now and I'll stop bothering you."

"I'm the one who called you." He pointed out. I rolled my eyes.

"Because I told you too." I sighed, "Now go get some sleep."

"Yes ma'am."

I giggled at that, and then asked the same question I asked every time we said goodbye, "Will I see you soon?" I knew the answer that was coming.

"Maybe." That stopped me. Every time I'd asked that for the past year and however many months he had replied, 'I don't think so.' I hoped this meant he'd visit in the next few months.

"Rock on." I yawned again.

"Indeed." He chuckled and then sighed, "Goodnight Jayd. Sleep well and take care of yourself."

That last line was new. I frowned, "You too, Vincent." I hung up and set my phone on the table before curling up under the covers and going to sleep.

-x-x-x-x-

It was another hot, sweltering summer day as I made my way across the valley. I had been coming here for the past week after discovering an interesting factor of my powers. I could take the life force out of living things. At least, that's what I figured. It had started out when I discovered the valley a week a go. I was sitting in the grass thinking and playing with a blade of grass. I felt it with my power because I was bored and could feel it slowly dying because I had plucked it. I forced some of my power into it and I felt its life force swell. Then, on a whim, I grabbed the blades life force with my own power and pulled it into me. Almost immediately, I felt a little refreshed and the blade had dried up and basically turned to dust in my fingers. So I had been practicing it. I'd gotten to the point where I could pick a bouquet of what was left of the dying wildflowers and steal their life. When I took a great deal of life from various objects, though, it left me light-headed and giddy sometimes. I would be left feeling relaxed and happy. Weird. Today I was planning on trying one of the trees. Hope it doesn't kill me.

I had just placed my hand on one of the few trees that wasn't already dried up from the heat when I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Uh-oh. I turned around quickly and had to blink for a few seconds while my brain processed the vision before me. Vincent. I gaped at him before running and throwing my arms around him. He laughed and returned the embrace before releasing me and stepping back to survey me.

"I've never seen you wear anything besides black." He commented. Some greeting. I laughed. I was wearing cut-off blue jean shorts that were pretty darn short, a red tank top, and white flip flops.

"It's too hot for black." I replied, making a face.

"Ah, not a true goth then." He chuckled. I grinned and noted that he was wearing the same thing he always did. And that he still looked as he did the first day I met him.

"How the hell can you wear leather in this heat?" I gasped. He shrugged and I frowned, "And why haven't you aged a day since I met you over five years ago?"

The humor in his crimson eyes died and his expression grew serious, "You tell me." I blinked and then shrugged. What did it matter?

"I'll figure it out later." I turned back to the tree, "I have an experiment to complete."

"Can I watch?" he asked, sounding amused once again. I glanced back over my shoulder and nodded.

"Could you back up though?" I asked. He nodded and, with a smile, walked about twenty feet away. I turned back to the task at hand with a warm smile and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, letting my power travel from my core, down my arm, through my fingers and into the—

"What are you doing?" Vincent's voice broke through my concentration. I stopped the flow of power and opened my eyes, turning slowly at the waist to shoot him a death look. He raised his hands in surrender, "Sorry. I won't talk again." I blinked and turned back to the tree. Again. I repeated what I did earlier, this time actually getting to the part where my power traveled into the tree.

The level of power coming from the trees life force was…immense. It left me breathless for a moment and when I hit the center of its life force, I lost sense of myself for a few minutes. It was just the trees power and mine, mingling together and twisting around each other. A small voice from somewhere in the distance was calling me back. I didn't want to go back; it felt so great to just play with the tree…and then the voice got louder…it was so annoying. Why couldn't it just leave me alone? The voice slowly dimmed away and it was just my power and the tree, playing with each other. But I was getting tired…so tired…then the voice was back, and it wasn't a voice, it was me. The intelligent part of me that knew what was happening. I pulled my power back but it was like trying to swim through cold molasses.

I broke through suddenly and fell backwards onto the hot grass, gasping for air. I blinked up into bright sky and Vincent's face. I closed my eyes to ward off the dizziness that caused his worried face to swirl above me.

"What happened?" I heard him gasp. I groaned and rubbed my forehead.

"Tree is powerful." I murmured. Almost immediately I felt Vincent's cool hands on my cheeks.

"What?!" he sounded panicky. "Did you hit your head? You're making no sense."

Meh. Time to get up. "No, no." I sat up and pushed him away. "The trees life force was a lot stronger than I thought." I glanced at him and he looked confused. I rolled my eyes and told him when I had learned and been doing.

"Oh." He stood and offered me a hand. I frowned at it and then let him help me up. "Well I guess you shouldn't do that anymore."

"Are you kidding?" I laughed and stepped away from him, towards the tree. "Of course I'm trying it again. I just wasn't prepared for it to grab onto me and try to drain me of my power. But now I'm ready and it should be easy. I thrust too much of my power into it, so now I just have to go a little bit at a time."

"Sure." He didn't sound convinced. I rolled my eyes at him,

"Just back up again." He moved back but not as far as before. Oh well. I pressed my palm against the tree again and, for the third time I let my power enter the tree, but this time I controlled it and let a tiny tendril leek down to the center of the trees life force. I felt it tugging on my own power but I refused to let it take hold of me. Instead, I wrapped that tendril around the trees life force and pulled it back to me, almost like reeling in a fish. This was much harder than the grass and flowers. It fought me like a shark and it felt like hours before I pulled it far enough in to brush against the place deep inside me that housed my power, but as soon as it touched me it was if I'd opened a flood gate.

The life force poured into me and soon filled me up. But it didn't stop. It kept flowing into me, creating a great pressure in my mind and body. It was enthralling and horrible at the same time. And then, as if a switch was flipped, pain shot through my body and I heard someone screaming. It was me. I was vaguely aware of the fact that I should take my hand away from the tree. Slowly, I fought through the pain and ripped my hand away from the tree. I stumbled back and fell to the ground. All this power inside of me was too intense. It was burning me up from the inside out. It was way too much to hold in; I had to put it somewhere.

So I let it go. I didn't care where it went, as long as it went. I released it out into the grass and flowers and all the other trees. I let out through the valley to all the plants around me. I could feel them growing taller and stronger, coming back from near death. In the trees I could feel each branch straighten and each leaf grow. And it still wasn't enough. Damn it. I need this to leave. I heard myself scream again and then Vincent, whom I'd forgotten was there, touched me. The power branched off and traveled into his body. It, no, I swam through every one of his veins and explored every cell of his body, leaving behind refreshment and life. And suddenly the world was silent and dark.

-x-x-x-x-

I came back to reality gasping for air as a migraine slowly subsided. I blinked into the sky and through green leaves and blossoms. Blossoms in summer? That's odd. Oh wait. I sat up and looked around. All around me were flowers in full bloom and trees blossoming. I had done that, all of it. Impressive. But…

"Jayd?" Vincent asked almost timidly from behind me. I turned to look at him with a frown. He looked a lot different. His normally fair, almost pale skin was flush and his cheeks were almost rosy. He licked his lips and looked at me, confused, "What did you do? I feel…excellent. I was so tired before but now, I feel great. Normal almost."

I blinked at him, "There was too much power in me. When the trees life force met with my power it's like they multiplied. I had to let it go. And it went into you when you touched me." I was staring at him hard. Something about him was very, very wrong.

His own blood red eyes narrowed at me. "What?"

"What…there's something different about you." I stood up and kept staring at him. He stood as well and returned my stare, only with mild curiosity as opposed to scrutiny. I walked a complete circle around him, his gaze following me as I did so. What was it? I had felt something strange while my power was flowing through him. The moment had just been so hectic that I'd only had a glimpse or a caress or whatever you want to call it. I frowned again and walked up right in front of him. I caught and held his gaze as I placed a hand on his chest. His slightly humored expression became suddenly serious as he stilled beneath my touch. I released my power and slowly closed my eyes to concentrate. I opened myself up a bit and let my mind wander into him. It was odd being 'in' him. It was like I was flowing through his veins and everything. And then I felt it. I yelped and jumped back from him, clutching my hand to my chest as if I'd been burned. Vincent's serious expression hadn't changed.

I took a step back, thinking about what I had just felt. What I had just discovered. "What are you?" I gasped, for Vincent had no heart.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Okay, I exaggerated a bit. Vincent had a heart, it just…didn't have a beat. It was bizarre. It felt like he had blood in his body, but his heart definitely wasn't beating. And yet there he was, watching me carefully, clearly alive and well. He cocked his head and smiled.

"Think about it, Jayd. You are a brilliant young woman. You ask what I am? You tell me."

I sat down abruptly with a sigh. Alright, if he was going to play a game with me, I'd sure as heck play. How could he be alive and not have a heart beat? That wasn't possible, was it? He looked entirely too good to be a zombie, not that those were real, ha-ha. But how…

"Does my mother know?" I asked abruptly and softly. He nodded slowly. I closed my eyes and willed myself to remember. I had overheard my parents talking about something odd once…and it had to relate with how Vincent could live without a heart beat and…not age. I opened my eyes and stared at him in wonderment.

"Are you a vampire?" I prayed he wouldn't start laughing. He nodded slowly.

"Seriously!?" I leapt to my feet and grinned. "That is so awesome!"

Vincent frowned, "Wait, you're excited that you found out one of your closest friends is the, so called, 'walking dead'?"

"Well, yeah!" I practically yelled and began pacing about. "This is incredible! A vampire! I thought they didn't exist. I thought they were just a myth, a legend. But wait." I froze and turned to him. He cocked his head curiously.

"Yes?" he asked with a smile. I walked over to him and studied his face. If he was a vampire then…

"How can you be out during the day? I thought vampires burst into flames or whatever in the sunlight." Now he laughed at me.

"That is a simple myth Jayd. We can come out in the sun like everyone else. We just don't have our strength or…powers during daylight hours; the sun steals it. During the night we are our vampiric selves."

"Ah." I smiled. "I would think you were fooling with me if I hadn't felt your heartbeat, or lack-there-of. I'm still a bit unsure, however."

"I'll prove it." He said softly and touched my face. His hands were still cool. A vampire thing? "Tonight." He whispered and then he turned and left me standing under the blooming tree in the valley, thinking over what I had just discovered.

-x-x-x-x-

That night I paced my room, waiting for Vincent. I was anxious to see how he would 'prove' he was a vampire. Why did I need proof, though? I'd felt his lack-of-beat heart. But still…vampires are creatures of legend, right? I didn't know what to think, honestly, so I sat down on the couch and twiddled my fingers, hoping he would arrive soon. I checked my cell phone on my new coffee table. 11:30. Where was he? And then, as if on cue, the drapes ruffled and he walked in from my balcony. I stood still and watched him approach me. We stood a few feet from one another, completely silent. If he's a vampire, shouldn't I be nervous? I though absently. Naw.

"So." I started with a smile. It was completely dark in my room, so it was difficult to see his face. I wonder if vamps have enhanced night vision, I thought and almost giggled. I guess I was still a little doubtful of Vincent being a vampire. It's just that it all seemed so…surreal. "You were going to prove something to me?"

He nodded and sat down on the couch, pulling me down to sit beside him. He sighed and seemed almost sad. He glanced at me and seemed to read my mind, "I am worried once you know for sure what I am, that you will hate me and not want to be around me any more."

"That won't happen." I assured him. He laughed softly, though it wasn't an amused laugh.

"You say that now, Jayd," He looked at me seriously, "but fear will make a person do strange things."

I shifted uncomfortably and realized he was right. But I was bound and determined to get through this. Vincent was one of my closest friends; I couldn't let something silly get in the way. Well, vampirism wasn't silly, if it was real. I nodded and waited for him to do whatever it was that would prove he was a vampire.

Vincent stood, removed and folded his red cloak, set it beside me on the couch, and went to turn the light on. I blinked into the sudden brightness and my eyes watered. I liked the dark. But I guess if he needed the light, that would be fine. He walked back over and knelt on the floor beside me, looking very apprehensive.

"Vincent, just do whatever it is you are going to do," I rolled my eyes and smiled. He didn't return the smile, at first. He just looked at me seriously, making me feel a bit uncomfortable. I frowned and waited. Then he slowly smiled. Not a happy-go-lucky smile, but mostly showing teeth in the form of a smile. He opened his mouth slowly. I leaned forward and studied his mouth.

There. His canine teeth were elongated and seemingly sharp. Instead of running away screaming, which any normal person would have, I gingerly reached out my hand and touched one of the 'fangs' with my index finger. It was a real tooth, no plastic, and even sharper than it looked. A sharp pain lanced through my fingertip and we both jerked back from each other. I glanced at the small swell of blood forming on the end of my finger and the little streak on the side. Catching by breath and willing my pounding heart to still, I looked back at Vincent. His eyes were suddenly much darker. I could see a small red streak on his bottom lip; my blood from when I'd carelessly jerked my hand back. I looked up into Vincent's eyes with a neutral expression, trying to decipher what he was thinking. Slowly, while staring intensely at me, he licked his lip. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Vincent…?" I asked softly, reaching out my other hand towards him. His eyes flew open and suddenly he was gone with a gust of wind. I blinked and he was on the other side of the room, by the bedside table. I felt my eyes grow wide, "Wow. How did you do that?"

He shook his head, opened his mouth to talk, and then shook his head again. After taking a deep breath and clearing his throat, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "I'll be back later. Don't wait up though."

There was another burst of wind and he was gone. The curtains at the balcony billowed outwards into the night. I gaped and realized that he really was a vampire. Cool.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_A/N: Okay, I know it was a REALLY short chapter, but I just felt good about ending it there. R&R PLEASE! I would really love some reviews! Just take twenty seconds and leave me your thoughts. Reviews encourage me to write more for YOU, so if you enjoy this story, pleasepleaseplease drop a message. Even if it just says "Good story!" I'd be happy. Thanks to all the readers!_

_-Estrella-_


	8. Chapter 8

Hope you like this! It was written a while ago so I just read over and edited it.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Vincent returned several hours later. I think it was about four-thirty, but I'm not quite sure. I'd been dozing on my bed with a book, waiting for him to return. The slight 'clink' of his metal feet told me of his arrival and I snapped out of my partial slumber. I set the book aside and stood, stretching happily. Though I hadn't slept much, I felt good enough to be up for several hours. I wasn't sure how long this would take, but I had many questions for Vincent.

Vincent had removed his cloak and was folding it, his back to me. I silently approached him, but apparently he had good hearing, "You're still awake." He sighed, "You should be sleeping."

"I'm fine, _Dad_," I teased and flopped down on the couch. He set his clothes on the coffee table and sat beside me.

"You're not afraid?" He asked softly, not looking at me.

"Of course not," I almost laughed, "Why should I be? You've had plenty of opportunities to harm me in the past and you haven't taken any of them. So I figure I'm plenty safe with you. Besides, you are one of the few I'm comfortable with, so I don't want to lose you."

"Ah."

I waited and he didn't say anything. I sighed, "So why did you leave earlier?"

"Well…" he leaned back, resting his arms against the back of the couch, and smiled a little guiltily at me, "I didn't expect you to do what you did, so I froze hoping I wouldn't cut you. And of course you cut yourself and I tasted your blood…"

"And that's bad?" I squeaked when he trailed off.

"No." he laughed, "No, not at all. How do I say this without freaking you out…well, people's blood have its own flavor. Like a drink. Some taste like the most expensive wine and some taste like rotten milk."

"Heh. I know what I taste like, then," I grinned, "Mom says I'm rotten to the core."

"Quite the opposite, actually," Vincent returned the smile, "From the tiny bit I tasted, you were like nothing I'd tasted before. Many people have similar tastes, with small differences like tasting better or worse. But you are…different. I can't place exactly your…flavor, because I wasn't able to drink more."

My eyes were wide again and he suddenly looked horrified, "Oh, Jayd, I'm sorry. It's just so easy for me to relax around you. I was speaking too openly. I hope I didn't disgust you."

"Not at all," I said slowly, "It's all really quite fascinating."

I thought for a second on my next question, "How old were you when you…died, or whatever it is that happens when you become a vampire?"

"Twenty-six," he replied automatically, staring straight ahead. He sounded almost sad.

"How long have you been a vampire?" I was almost disturbed by my eagerness. Almost.

"Four-hundred and thirty-two years." He sighed after a long pause. I felt my eyes grow wide.

"So you've been…around, for four-hundred and fifty-eight _years_?!" I gasped. Vincent nodded and glanced at me with an inquisitive look. I blinked, "What?"

"I'm still waiting for you to panic or go into shock." He laughed.

"Naw," I waved my hand dismissively. "So, what kind of…vampiric powers do you have?"

"Well," he started, turning to look me in the face, "all vampires have incredible strength, speed, sight, scent and hearing along with reflexes. It seems, however, that some vampires get…special traits. (1) I can…sort of teleport myself. Also, I can transform into a giant wolf. (2)"

"Cool!" I exclaimed. "I want to see!"

He laughed softly, "Not right now. Maybe some other night."

"Awww…." I pouted, "Can't I see you do _something_?"

Vincent smiled darkly and blurred away. It seriously looked like he became a blur. And I was completely alone. "Vincent..." I said in a small voice.

"Yes, Jayden?" Hot breath washed over the back of my neck. I shrieked and jumped forward as Vincent chuckled and sat down where I had been only seconds ago. I glared at him.

"Don't do that again." I growled.

"Of course." He smiled.

"So that was you…teleporting?" I asked, but he shook his head.

"No, that was just the speed. I will show you the teleportation some other night." He held out his 'human' hand and I stared at it before slowly placing my own in it. He pulled me up quickly and swung me up into his arms. I gasped and then shot him an 'if looks could kill' glare. "Now, now, Jayd. Don't be that way. You need to sleep; it's almost five-thirty."

"Do you need to sleep? Or do you just do it to waste time?" I asked with a sigh as he walked over and set me in the bed.

"No. It is not a necessity. But I like to sleep because when I do, I feel slightly human." He pulled the covers up and tucked them around me. There was a fraction of a second when I realized how silly it was for a four-hundred and something year old vampire to be tucking a seventeen year old girl into bed. I shook it away and smiled up at him as I cuddled into the warmth of my bed and closed my eyes.

"You're going to stay here tonight?" I asked sleepily.

"Yes, if you do not mind." His voice was soft, but still near me. I shook my head.

"Not at all…life's more fun and interesting when you're around." I heard him laugh and then he brushed a soft kiss on my forehead before walking over to the couch, clinking softly. I smiled and was asleep before he laid down.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Someone was knocking on my door. I growled and rolled over, checking my phone for the time. Eight o'clock. Mother f—

"JAYDEN!" the door burst open and Loz practically skipped in. He froze when he saw my expression. For a second I thought my 'get the hell out' look would work, but then he smiled and came over to sit on the side of the bed, tousling my hair, "Get up sleepy-head! Take a shower and get dressed! We're leaving soon."

"Fuck you." I muttered and rolled over.

"Jayden."

"WHAT?!"

"We're going to a flea market."

I sat up straight, "GET OUT! I gotta get ready!" I shrieked. Loz laughed and ran out of my room, shutting the door behind him. I leapt out of bed and rummaged through my wardrobe. I _love_ flea markets. They're a gold mine and I am a master at digging up treasures. Snatching up black pants, a green tank-top, fresh panties and a bra I ran over towards the bathroom, throwing the clothes on the couch.

"I'll be ready in twenty minutes!" I called over my shoulder, stripping off my shirt before practically kicking down the bathroom door. I walked in, ready to jump in the shower…and froze. Vincent looked up at me, water dripping from his long dark hair. He was completely naked except for a towel around his waist. Scars were patterned all over his broad, muscular chest. I forced myself to stop gaping at him and stared into his face. Remembering my own partial-nudity, I clutched my shirt to my chest, glad that, for once, I hadn't removed my bra last night before going to bed. "Sorry Vincent!" I blurted out and backed slowly out of the room, "I forgot you were here."

After closing the door behind me I sat down against the wall beside the bathroom, eyes wide. Oh….man. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to make the burning on my cheeks and neck go away, tugging my shirt back on. How could I forget Vincent was here? And oh how bad it would have been if I had walked in thirty seconds earlier. Or if I hadn't had a bra on. I laid down on the soft carpet to ward of the sudden dizziness that overwhelmed me. I heard the door open and Vincent walk out, but I didn't move or open my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jayd." I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He was fully dressed but still had damp hair. He frowned, "Are you alright?"

"Yup." I sat up, "Just tired."

"Alright…I'll see you later then." He turned and walked to the balcony. I jumped to my feet and pretty much ran into the bathroom. I removed my clothes and paused to stare in the mirror at my still-flushed face. "That was awkward." I muttered and shook my head, brushing my hair before turning on the shower.

-x-x-x-x-x-

I skipped down the 'isles' at the flea market, as content as can be. The market was held outdoors in a large field that had a few dirt roads. I had already bought a flowing, dark green skirt for an outrageously low price, and I was on cloud nine!

I had stopped at a booth selling necklaces when I sensed someone watching me. I looked around and saw a woman with dark red hair that fell almost to her knees. Dark black eyes stared at me and a slight smile played against her full lips. She was remarkable, really. Exceptionably beautiful. But she reminded me of a viper.

Beautiful in appearance and movement, but deadly. Almost immediately I didn't like her.

I looked back at the black beaded necklace in my hand and set it down, shaking my head at the vendor. I turned to move on and the woman was still staring at me. So I glared at her and moved on. The only problem was she was standing in the direction I was headed. So I just gave her a wide berth and continued on my way.

Approximately seven minutes later, however, there she was again, staring and smiling. So I did the only sensible thing.

I flipped her off.

Okay, so it was only sensible to me. Regardless, it didn't have the effect I wanted it to. The woman laughed, nodded her head, and winked. My face flushed and I turned and hurried away.

"DAMMIT!" I exclaimed, skidding to a halt as the same woman stepped out in front of me. How did she do that?!

"Hello, child," the red-head before me greeted in a soft, sensual voice. She flipped her hair back and sauntered closer. I backed up, the only thing running through my mind being, do NOT let her touch you! I don't know the reason, but I had the feeling it would be VERY bad if she touched me. She reached out a hand to me, "My name is Phoenix."

"Don't touch me," I commanded, somewhat bluntly.

"As you wish…" she dropped her hand and frowned, disappointed. "You are…Jayden, am I right?"

"Why do you ask?" I pondered, trying to hide the shock and fear that washed over me at her knowing my name. I still didn't understand why this woman terrified me so.

"I had heard rumors of a powerful healer in this area," she cocked her head to the side and smiled sweetly, "I was wanting to meet her and you fit the description."

I licked my lips, "Well…um…"

"You _are_ her. I know it," And then she did something odd. She leaned forward close to me and sniffed. Nodding slowly, she moved back a bit to admire me, "Yes, you are most definitely her."

I opened my mouth to speak, completely confused, but nothing came out. Phoenix then winked at me, blew a kiss, and turned away, waving over her shoulder.

"I will see you later, Jayden. We should…talk…I look forward to that…" and then she disappeared into the crowd.

I just stood there for a moment, staring at the place where she had been. Who the hell…?

"Eep!" I squealed when a strong hand grabbed my wrist and jerked me between two booths. I stumbled and looked up into the back of Vincent's dark head. Rolling my eyes, I let him tug me behind a row of booths and under a tree, where he practically threw me up against the trunk. Gripping my shoulders and leaning in close, he shook me.

"Did she touch you?" he asked seriously, danger flashing in his crimson eyes.

"Did who do what?" I shook my head, "Vinny, I have no idea what you're talking about."

He backed up a bit, "Vinny?"

"I dunno," I shrugged, "Nickname that just popped in my head."

"Fine, sure," he didn't laugh, like I expected him to, just stayed serious, "Did Phoenix…touch you?"

"Oh…her…" I shuddered, remembering her haunting black eyes, "No. I had this feeling that being touched by her would be very, very bad."

Vincent sighed in relief and his whole body relaxed. He even slumped a bit and rested his forehead on my shoulder, "Never…ever…let her touch you, Jayd," he whispered before raising his head to stare into my eyes, "Understand? Never."

I nodded, suddenly noticing flecks of orange in his red irises. Pretty. But he was too close and that bothered me a bit. "Why, though?" I asked, scotching to the side, "Does she have a disease?"

Vincent dropped his hands and stood up straight. "No," he watched me with a tired expression, "She's…like me. And one of her specialties has to do with touch."

I frowned. "Oh, I didn't think of that. What is her…'specialty'?"

He was silent for a moment, then shook his head slowly, "No, now is not the time for me to tell you. Just stay away from her. And whatever you do, don't let her touch you."

"Aye-aye, sir." I saluted him with a grin. Vincent smiled weakly and was about to say something, but froze, turning to look at the space between two booths. Fraedell slowly edged out from between them, walking over to us. He shot Vincent several nasty glares before coming over beside me and snaked an arm around my waist. Without removing his gaze from Vincent, he leaned down and kissed my cheek.

The vampire, however, completely ignored Fraedell's over protectiveness. He nodded at me and turned to go, "I'll see you later tonight, Jayd. We'll talk more then."

"Jayd?" Fraedell asked with a laugh after Vincent had slipped out of sight. I shrugged and leaned into his hold, resting my head on his shoulder. I was suddenly very tired. I guess the lack of sleep from the night before was catching up on me. His arm tightened around me, "Jayden, who is that guy?"

"Just an old friend," I sighed, not wanting to explain it. Saying too much might make him jealous.

"Why is he going to see you tonight?"

I was starting to get angry. "Because he's visiting my family, Frae, and staying with us. Why else would I see him?"

"I'm just curious," he huffed, laying his cheek on the top of my head, "I didn't like the way he was looking at you."

I snorted, "With his eyes?" Pushing away from him, I walked back towards the flea market and he followed me. "Don't push it though, okay? Nothing's going on between Vincent and me."

"How do you know that's what I was thinking?" he asked with a snappy attitude, "Maybe I was just curious."

I laughed bitterly, "Yea, sure Frae. I know you get jealous easily enough."

"How could I not?" he hissed, grabbing my arm and turning me to face him. I scowled and he touched my hair lightly, "You're so…awesome. I'm afraid someone's going to take you from me."

"If you keep snapping at every guy that gets near me," I said softly, "_you_ will push me away."

Fraedell flinched and looked away, "I'm sorry, Jayden."

I smiled and gave him a hug, which he returned. When I pulled back from him and we began to walk hand-in-hand down the path, a bright flash of red caught my eye.

Phoenix.

"Shit…" I whispered, looking away from her fiery, beautiful face.

"What is it?" Fraedell asked, concerned.

"I have to go," I said bluntly, extracting my hand from his hold. Without waiting for a response I hurried back down the path, tugging my cell phone out of my pocket. I quickly hit speed-dial one and waited as it rang.

"_Hey, sis, what's up?_" Loz answered.

"Uh…Are you with Mom and Dad?" I asked, practically running now.

"_No, but I see them up ahead. Why?_"

"I'm going home. Something came up." I saw my bike near Loz's and the rents'. Freedom and safety was oh-so close.

"_Jay, what happen?_" he asked, sounding worried. Damn our twin telepathy.

"I'll tell you later. Just let Mom and Dad know I'll be at home."

"_Wait for me at the bikes. I'm coming with you._" He commanded and promptly hung up on me. I rolled my eyes and leaned against my motorcycle, tapping my toe impatiently.

"You've got three minutes, bro, and I'm gone…" I muttered to myself.

Thirty seconds after the futile announcement, Loz broke away from the crowd at a flat-out run. Blame the telepathy for that.

"Let's go," he said as soon as he reached me, not waiting for a response as he swung onto his bike and fired up the engine. I smiled and followed suit, leading the way back to the house, where I was sure my twin would begin to question me about what was wrong.

The only problem was, could I tell him?

* * *

(1) You know, I had these number things in here from a long time ago and I can't quite remember the exact reason I had in putting them it, but I'll guess. I know I got some of the vamp ideas from Stephanie Meyer's books. I give her full credit for that and only had to use her ideas because EVERYONE else has come up with vamp ideas and there was nothing else I could think of.

(2) This idea I think I got from someone telling me that Vinny could take form of a wolf in the game. Tbh I've never played the games, just seen AC and clips from Dirge of Cerberus. So yeah…that's what I'm going off of. sweatdrop


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: WOW so way too long since I last updated. I was happy to re-read this story and become inspired once again to write. I have now written a full outline for this story, as I should have long ago, and I am excited to keep writing! As always, I do not own anything but the plot line. Not anything from Final Fantasy VII (advent children) nor Teen Titans (Raven and such)._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Loz actually glowered at me. I flinched when his eyes narrowed and he leaned towards me.

"Jayden," his tone was serious, "What is going on?"

I chewed on my bottom lip as the internal battle raged on. Should I tell him? Could I tell him? Would Vincent be angry if I told him or would Vincent _want_ me to tell him? I was starting to wish the vampire could read minds or something and show up.

"I don't know if I can tell you," I finally said, shifting to a more comfortable position on my couch. "But if I can tell you, I will."

"Promise?" I didn't think it was possible for his eyes to get any more narrow without closing.

"Yes, I promise!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air, finally frustrated. He nodded, satisfied and sat down beside me with a sigh.

"You've been different these past few days. I hardly see you anymore." He leaned his head against my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around his back and half-hugged him.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say. I closed my eyes and relaxed.

As I did so, the hold on my power loosened and it spread out. I was suddenly very aware of the life-filled vessel next to me. I could feel Loz with my mind. This time, with concentration, I widened the range on my power, almost gasping aloud when I could feel the strange white trees surrounding our home and the few critters that scurried about in the forest.

Wanting to test my abilities, I sent my power out as far as I could. I wasn't sure of the exact distance, but I was starting to get a headache from feeling so much life and activity around me. I struggled to ignore the different life presences around me, instead concentrating on a new one that had just entered my range.

It was different, not really feeling like life but was still alive. And it was moving extremely fast. I smiled and cut off my power.

"Vincent will be here soon," I informed Loz in a soft voice. Shaking him off I stood and walked to the balcony, motioning for Loz to stay where he was. Almost as soon as I was out of my twin's sight Vincent's blurred form burst out of the trees and shot up to the balcony.

"What happened?" he demanded as soon as he stilled. His worried expression faltered and he must have heard Loz, for he hissed and moved closer to me, leaning down to whisper in my ear, "What does he know?"

"Nothing," I stepped back and blinked innocently at him, "Yet."

"You're going to tell him?" he asked softly.

"If it won't hurt," I shrugged. Vincent sighed and nodded, gesturing for me to go back in my room. I smiled and marched through the archway and over to my brother. I hated hiding things from my twins. Pulling Loz down beside me on the couch, I told him about Vincent, about vampires, and about the strange woman called Pheonix.

"Speaking of which—" I cut off mid-sentence, turning from Loz to Vincent, "Why can't she touch me?"

Vincent sighed and pushed of the wall where he leaned, "Phoenix is a vampire with special powers that are unique to her. When touching someone, it is near impossible to disobey her commands. I only know of three people in the span of time I've been on this earth that have been able to break through her command. However, the good part of that power, is as soon as physical contact is broken, she can no longer dictate your actions. The worst power she has, though, is after touching someone, she can find them, no matter where they are and no matter what's protecting you. It's very dangerous considering she's extremely fast and powerful."

"More powerful than you?" I inquired.

"No…maybe," he seemed to think about it, "I'm not quite sure."

"Wait," Loz held up his hand, "So you're really a…vampire?"

* * *

Eventually, Loz had accepted the fact that Vincent is mystical, as I like to call it to said vampire's dismay. I left them to talk for my date (uggghhhh I hate that word) with Fraedell. Vincent warned me incessantly to be careful of Phoenix, who may be stalking around.

Fraedell came to pick me up at the house. He actually had a car this time, a sleek black bullet of a thing. I was impressed. "Damn, Gresh," I commented as he slowly exited the vehicle, "That's one hell of a car."

"You have such a way with words Jayden," he smirked, then added, "You look nice."

"Uhhh…thanks," I was wearing a black, three-quarter length sleeve dress that hit about mid-thigh. Black lace peeked out from under the hem. A dark, forest green bow tied around the neck, complementing the high collar and the green of my eyes. Black combat boots and a thin green leather belt completed the ensemble.

Fraedell was wearing a dark, midnight blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose his lean forearms. Black pants with thin grey pinstripes and what looked like motorcycle boots finished off his outfit.

I raised an eyebrow, "You're pretty dressed up."

He scowled, "I just want you to understand I'm not a complete slob of a thug."

"Sorry," I laughed, "You look…nice, actually." It was the first time he had dressed up. Usually on our "dates" we went and did something wreckless and ate somewhere with a low health rate and a high probability of being molested by strangers. Not that I never had fun; I always had a blast.

"You sound surprised," He jerked his head to the car, and I followed suit with getting in and buckling up. I noticed he didn't put on his seat belt.

"Buckle up, dumbass," I commanded.

"Why?" Fraedell snorted, "I'm a good driver."

"Yeah, well what about other people?" I watched him with a frown as he peeled out onto the road.

"I'm a great driver," He grinned, "Therefore, I can avoid them easily."

"Yeah, right," I rolled my eyes and reached over, jerking the steering wheel.

"HOLY SHIT!" Fraedell swerved, overcorrected and eventually was able to straighten out the crazy sports car. He glanced over at me, furious, "What the hell is wrong with you? Tthat could have gotten us into an accident."

"Well, I'm not worried," I reached up and snapped the strap across my chest, "I'm wearing my seat belt." He grumbled, but fastened his own. Success.

"Sooooo," I said after a few minutes of silence, "Where are we going?"

He squirmed a bit in his seat and gave me a sidelong glance, "Somewhere…"

"What does that mean?" I demanded.

"It means, you'll see when we get there," he replied with a smirk

'There' turned out to be a nice restaurant downtown. Quite nice, actually. I was surprised. When we entered the dimly lit interior of Notte di Paradiso I was shocked to see a wide room ringed by two layers of tables, each separated by a different variety of plants for privacy, with the focal point being a shining, wood dance floor in the center of the room. A classy bar resided in the back right corner. Light jazz music played as several couples danced together. I felt like I'd stepped into a time machine back to the old days when all girls wore their hair the same with their prim dresses and men wore button up shirts and suspenders while they jigged around in shiny shoes.

"You had better not be expecting me to dance," I murmured, eyeing the dance floor as the hostess led us to a quiet table in the corner. The black table cloth was thick and heavy. I stared at the cutlery in front of me; all fine silver and more than there needed to be arranged on either side of a large, thin off-white platter rimmed in more silver. I looked up at Fraedell and raised an eyebrow, "What is this all about?"

He leaned forward with a sly smile, "I don't want you to think I'm just some thug."

"Too late," I snorted.

* * *

Overall, dinner was wonderful. I had a delicious dish that consisted of cheese, mushroom and pepper stuffed tortelloni in a creamy garlic vegetable sauce. It was quite amazing, and I inhaled it quickly along with the fresh bread provided. If only we were allowed wine…

As I patted my lips with the dark blue linen Fraedell stood and came to my side. He held out his hand with a smile.

"Hell no," I growled, knowing what he was implying. But, of course, he ignored me and grabbed my hand, jerking me out of the chair to drag me down towards the dance floor. I barely had enough time to throw the napkin on my chair before stumbling after him.

"I'm going to kill you," I snarled under my breath as he pulled me against him, holding me closely around the waist. When he wouldn't release me I gave up and loosely set my arms around his neck. For a while we improvised dance moves and I was just starting to relax and enjoy myself when I saw a red flash in my peripheral. I stopped and turned in Fraedell's embrace. My veins ran cold when my eyes fell upon a sight I did not want to behold.

Phoenix.

She stood beside the bar, sipping a glass of white wine and studying the dance floor. When she caught my eye she winked and twirled the crystal glass between her fingers with the thin stem, beckoning me with her other hand. Her long, elegant fingers were too thin, reminding me of a spider that twitched on its back.

"Fraedell," I said seriously, tearing my gaze from hers to give him a very level look, "I need to go. Please. Now. I can't stay here."

"Why?" He asked and cocked his head with a frown, but he stopped dancing and we slipped off the dance floor, "What's wrong Jayden?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it, I—I just really need to get out of here a-and get some fresh air or something," I stammered as we returned to the table. I grabbed my small wallet and phone off the table and shoved them into the pockets of my skirt and waited as Fraedell flagged down the waiter and paid him.

Within five minutes of spotting Phoenix we were out the door and back into the warm summer night. I inhaled deeply and immediately felt better. I tried not to think about the fact that Phoenix would probably just follow us. I started to head down the street to the car but Fraedell grabbed my hand and tugged in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going? It's still early. Let's walk," he said, dragging me down the sidewalk.

"Where?" I demanded.

"There's that industrial art park you like, we can break into it again. It's cool at night."

"Yeah, but…" I trailed off, glancing back over my shoulder to watch the door to the restaurant until we rounded a corner. No sign of her. Yet.

We were nearing the entrance to the outdoor art gallery when I saw someone with blood red hair leaning against the building just passed it. I began to panic and bolted down an alley, pulling Fraedell with me.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped, resisting my urgent stride a bit.

"I don't want to go there," I said absently, taking a random street that branched off the back of the alley.

"Well did you think that maybe I wanted to go there? Christ…" the warm hand in mine abruptly ripped away from mine. I glowered back at him.

"Look," I sighed, "I'm not feeling this whole 'downtown excursion' thing. I want to go home."

"What the hell?" Fraedell exclaimed, his voice slowly rising with anger, "You agreed to spend the night with me, I take you to a ridiculously nice dinner and I'm trying my best to be what you deserve, and you rub shit in my face when I want to go somewhere. I really wanted to go in there!"

I stopped in the middle of crossing the dark road and whirled around. Now I was getting pissed, "Why, so you can try to have sex with me again?"

"Well as _I_ remember, you were all into our little hot session and it was getting great and then you flipped!"

I rolled my eyes, "No girl wants to do it behind a metal statue of a dinosaur wearing a top hat. At least not the first time, you jack ass."

"Well then you should have told me that before the clothes started coming off!" He yelled.

"Can we not do this right now?" I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead, "Or ever, for that matter."

"Of course you don't want to discuss anything you don't like, even if I want to," Fraedell began to pace back and forth across the empty street. "Can we at least go to a club?"

"You know I hate clubs," I pointed out, "With a passion."

"Well isn't that convenient," he snarled, "You know what, why don't you just f—"

"Jayd."

The new voice coming from a distant alley caused us both to halt our fight. I saw Fraedell's hand immediately go to his lower back, where he usually carried a gun. I heard him curse under his breath when he realized that it wasn't there. Old habits and such. I, however, wasn't worried.

"Vincent," I called out in greeting as my vampiric friend emerged from the shadows.

"Who the—" Fraedell turned on me, "What is _he_ doing here?"

"How should I know?" I shrugged.

"Jayd, you need to go home now, come," Vincent announced when he neared us. His entire demeanor was very serious and tense. He must have known that Phoenix was nearby.

"I know, but dumbass here hasn't been listening." Thumb jerk at aforementioned dumbass.

"I figured," Vincent gestured behind him, "I have a bike a few streets over, I left it there when I went to look for you. I will take you home."

"No."

We both turned to stare at Fraedell. His fists were clenched and shaking at his side. He gave Vincent an 'eat-shit-and-die' look. Vincent returned the glare with a calm expression that was somehow terrifying. He seemed so relaxed, but his eyes promised hellfire and damnation if my idiot boyfriend did something we'd all regret.

"Fraedell, stop it," I commanded. He ignored me and closed the distance that separated him from the vampire. He glared up at Vincent.

"I don't trust you with her," he growled before attempting to shove the larger man back. Keyword being 'attempt'. Vincent didn't budge. Fraedell's face twisted into a scowl, but before he could do anything else stupid I grabbed his arm. He glared at me.

"I'm going with him Fraedell, I trust him with my life," I said calmly and followed Vincent, who had already turned and walked away.

"Don't do this!" Fraedell called from behind me. I ignored him and copied Vincent in studying our surroundings for some sort of mystical ambush.

"Jayd! You do this and it could mean the end of us!"

"If you're that quick to anger and jealousy," I called back, "Then you aren't worth it!"

* * *

When we finally returned to the house I had a major headache. No one else was home. I collapsed onto my couch and sent some soothing energy through my head to calm my throbbing brain. I didn't open my eyes when I felt Vincent sit down beside me.

"You saw Phoenix too?" I sighed.

"Yes."

"What does this mean?" I cracked an eye to peer at him. He was watching me carefully.

"I think I need to stay near you for a while, until she moves on."

I sighed again and sat up straight, running my fingers through my ever growing hair, "So you think she'll eventually give up?"

"Yes, she gets bored easily," he replied with a wry smile, "but not forever. She'll be back again and again."

"For me?" I asked, dreading the answer but hoping for good news. Vincent nodded solemnly.

Awesome.

* * *

_A/N: The first half, or maybe third, of this chapter was written months ago, maybe over a year ago, so if there is a weird transition I apologize! I hope you liked it, I'm working on Chapter ten right now. ^_^_


End file.
